RUSSIA: Govt calls new US sanctions illegal and ”draconian”

Russia condemned new US sanctions as “draconian” on Thursday after news of the measures sent the rouble tumbling to two-year lows and sparked a wider asset sell-off. The US State Department said on Wednesday it would impose new sanctions by the end of August after determining that Moscow used a nerve agent against a former […]

Russia condemned new US sanctions as “draconian” on Thursday after news of the measures sent the rouble tumbling to two-year lows and sparked a wider asset sell-off.

The US State Department said on Wednesday it would impose new sanctions by the end of August after determining that Moscow used a nerve agent against a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, in Britain. It was an allegation Russia has repeatedly denied. 

Moscow has long cast the accusations as a Western plot to damage its reputation and provide a convenient pretext for more sanctions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters on a conference call, said the US move was “absolutely unfriendly”.

“Making a linking to these events is for us unacceptable and such restrictions like those passed by the American side earlier … are absolutely illegal and do not correspond to international law,” said Peskov.