Moscow slams ‘unacceptable’ sanctions imposed by US in response to nerve agent attack in UK
The latest US action follows the Treasury’s imposition of sanctions in March against 19 Russian citizens and five entities for interfering in the 2016 US election – the toughest steps against Moscow since Trump took office
The Kremlin on Thursday branded as “unacceptable” new US sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in a nerve agent attack on a former spy.
The action by the US State Department is the latest salvo in a series of disputes between the rival powers, and comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
The State Department said on Wednesday the new sanctions were in response to “the use of a ‘Novichok’ nerve agent in an attempt to assassinate UK citizen Sergei Skripal” – who was a Russian double agent – and his daughter Yulia on English soil in March.
They are aimed at punishing Putin’s government for having “used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
But the punitive measures – which were welcomed by Britain – triggered a furious response from Moscow.
“We consider categorically unacceptable the linking of new restrictions, which we as before consider illegal, to the case in Salisbury,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
However, he added that “Moscow retains hopes of building constructive relations with Washington”.
We grew accustomed to not hearing any facts or evidence. The American side refused to answer our follow-up questions