WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) President Donald Trump should impose without delay a second round of sanctions against Russia over the alleged poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal, US Senator Robert Menendez said in a statement on Friday.
"As the possibility of another meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin increases, I strongly urge the president to put in place the second round of sanctions required by US law for Russia's use of chemical weapons," Menendez said.
Menendez's statement comes three days after the State Department announced the United States will proceed with new sanctions against Russia over the alleged involvement in the poisoning of Skripal, which Russia has repeatedly denied.
Russia does not intend to unilaterally implement the United States' illegal demands on additional inspections of chemical facilities or even react to them, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in September.
Menendez, who is a ranking member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he believes that an impactful second round of sanctions will "effectively deter further use of chemical weapons by the Kremlin," citing the UK accusation that has not been verified with any proof.
The Salisbury poisoning incident took place on March 4, when former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with what the British authorities claimed was a military-grade nerve agent.
The United Kingdom accused Russia of organizing the attack while Moscow said London had not provided any proof of its involvement in the poisoning and has failed to cooperate in the investigation as per international law.
The UK Porton Down laboratory has said it was unable to confirm that the substance used in the Salisbury attack was produced in Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Salisbury poisoning case was falling apart due to the lack of proof of Russia's involvement.
On August 24, the United States announced that it was imposing sanctions on Russia under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991. Under the terms of the Act, Russia was given until November 6 to prove it had complied with the strict conditions it imposed, including inspections, or face a new round of more severe sanctions.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia considers US sanctions against Russia on the Skripal poisoning affair to be illegal, just as any new restrictions on the part of the United States should they be imposed in November.
