Russia Condemns New US Sanctions Against It

Russia condemned the new US sanctions against it as an "illegal" action. Following the announcement of the sanctions, the value of the ruble fell to its lowest level in two years, and concerns over continued punitive actions from the West caused turmoil in the Russian financial market. Since Donald Trump came to power in 2016, Moscow has attempted to improve the cold relations between the US and Russia. Officials in Russia described last month's meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as a victory. However, some US lawmakers believe that Trump did not take a firm stance regarding Russian interference in US politics during the meeting, which paved the way for new sanctions. Moscow, which had hoped to improve relations with Washington through Trump, has now realized that the US President is under significant pressure from lawmakers to take a firmer stance against Russia ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The US State Department announced on Wednesday that at the end of this month, new sanctions would be imposed on Russia due to its involvement in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent that occurred in the UK months ago. The Russian government has denied involvement in this incident. In its initial reaction, the Kremlin stated that these sanctions are illegal and unfriendly, and that the US government's action contradicts the "constructive atmosphere" of the meeting between the two leaders. The sanctions will be implemented in two phases. The first wave targets the export of certain American goods to Russia that are considered sensitive to national security. This wave has many exceptions, and most of its items were already banned due to previous sanctions. The second wave, which is much more serious, will be implemented after 90 days unless the Russian government provides "credible guarantees" regarding the non-use of chemical weapons. Another condition for not implementing these sanctions is that Russia must allow the United Nations or other international observers to visit facilities related to these weapons. NBC News reported, citing US officials, that the second phase of sanctions may include a reduction in the level of diplomatic relations, the suspension of flights by Russian state airlines (Aeroflot) to the US, and nearly a complete halt of all exports and imports between the two countries. The release of the US State Department's statement heightened investor uncertainty regarding the consequences of further sanctions against Russian assets. The ruble's value against the dollar fell by more than one percent, reaching its lowest level in two years, although part of this decline was later recovered. The Kremlin described the new sanctions as "illegal and contrary to international law." Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stated, "Such decisions by the US are completely unfriendly and have no resemblance to the constructive atmosphere of the recent meeting between the two presidents." He added that Washington has become an unpredictable player in the international arena and "can do anything." Therefore, it is very important for the Russian financial system, which he described as stable, to be prepared. In remarks that could be interpreted as Russia's unwillingness to escalate tensions in bilateral relations, Peskov said it is still too early to talk about Russia's retaliatory measures. He criticized the US decision to link these sanctions to the poisoning case in the UK. Moscow has repeatedly claimed that this incident is a Western conspiracy to tarnish Russia's image and justify further sanctions against it.