Only a day after a top diplomat indicated the U.S. was prepared to impose new sanctions on Moscow, the Trump administration said Monday it was evaluating prospects for new punitive measures against Russian entities and companies involved in Syria’s chemical-weapons program.
“We are considering additional sanctions on Russia and a decision will be made in the near future,“ White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters Monday. ”We’re evaluating, but nothing to announce right now.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation, Nikki Haley said on Sunday that as part of the U.S. response to the attack, new sanctions against Russia would be levied, adding that they would be announced on Monday by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“You will see that Russian sanctions will be coming down. Secretary Mnuchin will be announcing those on Monday if he hasn’t already. And they will go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ] and chemical weapons used,” Haley said.
However, Sanders said on Monday that even though the president has clearly indicated he would be tough on Moscow, “he’d still like to have a good relationship with them.”
The administration’s remarks left the possibility of new sanctions open, but at the same time attracted criticism by Democrats, who said the decision suggests President Donald Trump supports brutal regimes.
“I am outraged that President Trump pulled back sanctions on Russia for its support of the Assad regime,” Representative Eliot Engel, ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement. “This sends a message to governments around the world that they can support brutal, criminal behavior without serious consequences.”
Moscow, meanwhile, is readying its own response to Washington’s most recent sanctions. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said the Duma is preparing a bill on countermeasures against the United States and other countries’ “unfriendly actions,” according to Russian news agency Interfax.
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