Lawmaker Presses Pompeo To Impose Tougher US Sanctions On Russia In Skripal Case - Letter

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2019) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo needs to tell a House of Representatives National Security Committee why he has not imposed tougher sanctions on Russia over the alleged poisoning of Sergei Skripal, Congressman Stephen Lynch wrote in a letter on Tuesday.

"The more than eight-month delay in announcing a second round of sanctions, coupled with the relative ineffectiveness of the sanctions chosen, raises serious questions about the Trump Administration's willingness to hold Russia accountable for its use of chemical weapons," Lynch wrote in his letter to Pompeo.

The first round of US sanctions, introduced under the 1991 CBW Act, went into effect on August 27, 2018.

On August 2, 2019, President Donald Trump signed off on the second round of sanctions against Russia.

In March 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in Salisbury, England. The UK government said the Skripals had been subject to poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent and accused Russia of staging the attack.

Russia has denied the accusations, saying the UK government has not provided any evidence of Moscow's alleged role in the poisoning. Russia has said it sent more than 70 diplomatic notes to the United Kingdom calling for a joint inquiry as required by international law, but London has not cooperated in any way.