US announces second package of sanctions against Russia
(Baonghean.vn) - A series of new sanctions against Russia will be implemented from August 3 in connection with the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in the UK last year.
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| The US announced a second package of sanctions against Russia. Photo: AP |
The new sanctions will prohibit international financial institutions from extending any loans, financial assistance, and technical assistance to Russia, and restrict US banks from financing Russia’s foreign debt, according to a State Department spokesman. In addition, the US will also restrict the export of certain products and technologies to Russia.
Previously, US media reported that US President Donald Trump had signed an executive order imposing sanctions on Russia in connection with the poisoning of former spy Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent in the UK in April 2018.
Immediately afterward, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing regret over the US move, saying that these sanctions were damaging the already strained bilateral relationship.
The poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the UK in March 2018, which London accused Russia of involvement and Moscow strongly denied, has caused tensions between the two countries to escalate.
The UK has cancelled all high-level bilateral meetings with Russia in 2018, expelled 23 Russian diplomats, and cancelled visits by ministers and members of the British Royal Family to Russia to watch the 2018 World Cup.
Not only that, the Skripal double agent poisoning has also caused relations between Russia and the West to decline. At the request of the UK, Western countries have expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats, in response Moscow has also expelled an equivalent number of diplomatic staff from many member countries of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)./.
