The State Department is facing a November 6 deadline by which it must either certify to Congress that Moscow has met certain conditions imposed in the aftermath of the Skripal attack or start consultations 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, a claim repeatedly denied by Moscow.
The conditions imposed by Washington on Moscow include Russia ceasing its alleged chemical weapons and assuring it will not use them, as well as allowing international inspectors to verify those assurances, according to the State Department.
Palladino also said there is no timeline associated with the State Department’s consultations with Congress on the new wave of sanctions against Russia.
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. The law allows for the termination of foreign assistance and arms sales, denial of US government credit or other financial assistance, prohibitions on exports and a suspension of diplomatic relations, among other possible measures.
