Special to WorldTribune.com

Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com

On April 12, 18 Russian officials were named on the “Magnitsky List” of those banned from visiting the U.S. and whose assets in the U.S. will be frozen.

The next day, Kremlin retaliated by publishing its own list of 18 Americans who will not be allowed to visit Russia and whose assets in Russia will likewise be frozen.

This renewed bilateral animosity is a serious blow to President Barack Obama’s Russia agenda which has been marked by an overall policy toward mutual rapprochement on a whole range of issues from the de-escalation of the U.S.-led missile defense system in central and eastern Europe to the drastic reduction in the number of nuclear warheads.

Before the 2012 re-election campaign, President Obama privately, but publicly (as overheard through an open microphone), assured Russian leader Dmitri Medvedev in Seoul, Korea that he would have a freer hand in giving Russia more concessions after his successful re-election.

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  Dmirti Medvedev, Kremlin, Sergei Magnitsky, U.S.-led missile defense, War over ‘Magnitsky List’ resets Obama’s planned ‘reset’ with Moscow