MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2018) Russia will respond to the US sanctions imposed in connection to the poisoning of Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom in a pragmatic manner and on a reciprocal basis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview released on Tuesday.
The first package of new US sanctions, including, in particular, a ban on supplies of dual-purpose electronic devices and components to Russia, took effect on Monday.
"For our part, we will continue to act in a calm and pragmatical manner, responding to all the attacks according to the principle of reciprocity," Lavrov told Slovakia's Pravda newspaper.
The minister once again reiterated that it was futile to use the language of ultimatums with respect to Russia.
On August 8, the US administration announced new sanctions against Russia, consisting of two packages, due to its alleged use of chemical weapons in the poisoning of the Skripals in the UK city of Salisbury in March. According to media reports, the second round of sanctions, which might be imposed in November, might include scaling back diplomatic relations between the two countries, suspending flights of Russian airline Aeroflot to the United States and almost complete cessation of US exports to the country. According to the US State Department, Russia could avoid the second round of sanctions by assuring it would not use chemical weapons in the future.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the Skripals case, stressing that London has neither provided evidence nor cooperated with Moscow in investigating the incident.
