U.S. Set To Impose New Russia Sanctions over Syria: Nikki Haley
The United States will impose new sanctions on Russia for supporting Syria over an alleged chemical attack in Syria as well as targeting the 2016 US presidential elections
Washington: The United States will impose new sanctions on Russia over an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said today.
Haley said the sanctions, to be announced Monday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, would target companies that supplied Damascus with equipment and other material related to chemical weapons. "You will see that Russian sanctions will be coming. Secretary (Steve) Mnuchin will be announcing those on Monday, if he hasn't already," Haley said in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation." "They will go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to Assad and chemical weapons use," she said.
The move follows air strikes by U.S., French and British forces in retaliation for an alleged Syrian chemical weapons attack on April 7 in Douma, a rebel-held town near Damascus where more than 40 people were killed. The U.S. has warned it "is locked and loaded" to strike Syria if any more chemical attacks occur.
U.S. military officials said the air strikes early Saturday in Syria took out "the heart" of Syria's residual chemical weapons capability. The strikes sought to avoid contact with Russian forces in the country to support Assad's regime. But U.S. officials have blamed Russia for failing to rein in its Syrian ally, as the guarantor of a 2013 agreement to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons. Russia has been the foremost supporter of the Assad government since the Syrian war began more than seven years ago. In response to the strikes, Russia pledged to retaliate for what it described as a "fabricated" chemical gas attack.
Haley also said the three aims for the U.S. in Syria are ensuring chemical weapons are not used in any way that poses a risk to U.S. interests; Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) is defeated; and there is a good vantage point to watch what Iran is doing.
"[It is our goal] to see American troops come home, but we are not going to leave until we know we have accomplished those things," Haley said on Fox News on Sunday.
Haley also ruled out any one-on-one talks between President Assad and the US over the Syrian crisis. She said Syria had so far refused to take part in multilateral negotiations as part of a political process facilitated by the UN, adding that Syria was not "worthy" of direct talks with Washington. (With Agency inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2018 11:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).