Russia accuses US of sanctioning officials, worsening bilateral relations

The Kremlin today condemned the US blacklisting of Russian officials, calling the move a further damage to bilateral relations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Photo: RT.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that the US decision to blacklist Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia's Investigative Committee, and lawmakers Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun was "a step that will deteriorate bilateral relations". Lugovoi and Kovtun are suspected of involvement in the 2006 assassination of former spy Alexander Litvinenko.

"We regret the unprecedentedly long period of deterioration in bilateral relations that occurred during Obama's second term," AFP quoted Mr Peskov as saying. "We believe this is not in the interests of Russia or the United States."

On January 9, the US Treasury Department put Bastrykin, Lugovoi and Kovtun under the Magnitsky Act, banning the blacklisted Russians from entering the US and freezing their assets in the country.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said yesterday that the decision to add to the sanctions list was made after "careful research" and targeted individuals in the Russian law enforcement system accused of human rights abuses.

The Magnitsky Act, which came into effect in 2012, is intended to punish individuals suspected of involvement in the 2009 death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who spent a year in prison in Russia. There are currently 44 names included in the law.

According to VNE