‘DRACONIAN!’ Russia DENOUNCES Trump for revenge sanctions after Salisbury poisoning
RUSSIA today denounced America for imposing “draconian” new sanctions on Russia over the fatal nerve agent attack in the UK which Moscow is blamed for orchestrating.
By ALISON LITTLE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
Express.co.uk
Thu, Aug 9, 2018
The surprise announcement by the US State Department was welcomed by the British government.
Unusually, Donald Trump held off from his customary Tweeting about the decision, in what some saw as a sign of tension between him and his officials as the President seeks to rebuild relations with Vladimir Putin.
Last month the two men held talks in Finland. The US president has also been heavily critical of an American investigation into claims that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Mr Trump beat rival Hillary Clinton.
The sanctions news saw the value of the Russian rouble plunge to a two-year low before recovering somewhat, amid market fears it is locked in a never-ending sanctions spiral.
The sanctions were announced in line with American laws that oblige action once it is decided that chemical or biological weapons have been used.
The US administration has concluded that Moscow was behind the incident in March in Salisbury in which contact with military-grade Novichok hospitalised former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
In March, America joined other countries in showing solidarity with Britain and expelled 60 Russian diplomats identified as intelligence agents.
Last month, British local Dawn Sturgess died after apparently spraying the chemical onto herself from a perfume bottle presumed discarded in Salisbury by the Skripals’ attackers.
The Rest…HERE
