USA announces new sanctions against Russia following Skripal case

Russian agents have been accused of poisoning Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, last March, with the help of the neurotoxic agent developed by the Soviet Union, Novichok.

Sydney:

The United States imposed a new set of sanctions on Moscow on Saturday on the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom in 2018.

Russian agents have been accused of poisoning Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, last March, with the help of the neurotoxic agent developed by the Soviet Union, Novichok.

Washington said on Saturday that it would oppose "the extension of any loans, financial or technical assistance to Russia" by international financial institutions and would impose limits on the sovereign debt financing of U.S. banks, said U.S. State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus in a statement.

The US will also limit exports of goods and technology to Russia, Ortagus added.

The attack on Salisbury, the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since the Second World War, caused international outcry and led to the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by Western countries.

Moscow denies any involvement in the poisoning and has offered many and varied alternative explanations and counter-accusations.

Skripal, a former officer of the Russian military intelligence service GRU, was found guilty of" high treason " in 2006 before being exchanged for an exchange of spies between Moscow, London and Washington.