U.S. allows itself "chemical" sanctions against Russia

The State Department informed the Congress that Moscow was not in compliance with the chemical and biological weapons warfare elimination act, so consultations with Congress are underway on potential new sanctions against Russia, State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a press briefing.

"We informed the Congress that we were unable to certify that the Russian Federation was in compliance," he said.

"The process takes time and we want to get sanctions right," the State Department spokesperson explained when asked whether there was a timeline for deciding on new sanctions.

The United States has accused Russia of involvement in the March 4 nerve agent attack on Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English town of Salisbury. 

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 even more severe sanctions.

The Trump administration on Tuesday informed Congress that Russia had not complied with the conditions, and the State Department said it would proceed with new sanctions.

First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, a representative of the legislative body of the Jewish Autonomous Region, Vladimir Dzhabarov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that it would be much more appropriate for Washington to impose sanctions on itself, since the United States does not comply with the chemical and biological weapons warfare elimination act. "The United States, in fact, demanded the possibility of intervening in Russia's internal affairs, that is, to achieve the admission of American experts to our chemical plants to verify that we are in compliance with the law on the prohibition of chemical weapons. Although we destroyed everything under the control of an international organization, and it was confirmed, there is an official protocol on the absence of chemical weapons in Russia," he recalled.

"Of course, no self-respecting country would allow such interference. The Americans are well aware that we will not agree to this demand, and therefore used it as an excuse to introduce the next batch of sanctions. The sanctions process is continuous, and until this generation of American politicians leaves the political arena, this disorder will continue. Of course, w try to use any step to discuss and meet with them, but the Americans either do not notice the outstretched hand, or flatly refuse to hold talks with us. We are a sovereign country with our own interests and never give up independent policy," Vladimir Dzhabarov stressed.

The deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Andrey Baklanov, said that disagreements on chemical weapons have become systemic. "The United States, putting pressure on its allies, is seeking to destroy the mechanism for verifying the fulfillment of treaty obligations to destroy chemical weapons. They did not fulfill their obligations themselves, although the document was agreed and signed by them - and this creates a problem for the international inspection to implement the treaty, due to which the mechanism is stalling. Any U.S. actions in this direction only confirm their principled position on disrupting and eliminating the old practice of limiting and destroying chemical weapons, as well as the organization of the inspection system," he pointed out.

The very wording of "the inability to confirm the execution of the law" by the other party creates a very dangerous precedent. “They cannot confirm it, but a negative informational stuffing occurs, and unverified information is perceived. The international community needs to react to this harshly, because today this attack is directed against the Russian Federation, and tomorrow it can be used against any other country. It looks like the U.S. absolutely does not intend to abandon this line," Andrey Baklanov concluded.