US renews sanctions on Russia over Skripal affair

Sydney: A new round of sanctions were imposed on Moscow on Saturday by the United States over the 2018 poisoning of former double-agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom.

Russian spies were blamed for the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March last year using the Soviet-developed nerve agent Novichok.

The two survived but a British woman later died after her partner picked up a discarded perfume bottle investigators beli-eve was used to carry the Novichok.

Washington said on Saturday it will oppose “the extension of any loan or financial or technical assistance to Russia” by international financial institutions and put limits on US banks from purchasing Russian sovereign debt, US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

The US will also limit the export of goods and technology to Russia that could be used in the country’s chemical and biological arms, Ortagus said. She added the measures could prevent Russia from accessing “billions of dollars of bilateral commercial activity with the US”.

The sanctions will come into effect following a 15 day congressional notification period — around August 19 — and be in place for a minimum 12 months.