US media reported earlier that Washington was planning to impose new sanctions in coordination with its European Union allies, with the specific restrictive measures to be outlined by US and EU officials in the coming days.
Washington is expected to impose sanctions against Russia over the alleged poisoning of Russian vlogger Alexey Navalny, Reuters reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The sources, who declined to be identified, said the US was expected to impose restrictions under two executive orders – 13661, issued after Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014, and 13382, issued in 2005 to counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The sanctions could also be imposed under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW), the sources told the news agency.
On Monday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters the United States closely coordinated with the European Union its response to Navalny’s imprisonment. Earlier, the European Union agreed to expand sanctions against Moscow over the Navalny case during the meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Last month, Navalny returned to Moscow from Germany, where he was treated for alleged poisoning, and was arrested upon arrival in Sheremetyevo International Airport. Shortly after, the Simonovsky Court in Moscow rescinded Navalny’s suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case over multiple probation breaches and replaced it with a 3.5-year prison term.