Russia plans retaliatory measures against ‘categorically unacceptable’ Novichok sanctions as rouble tumbles | City A.M.
Russia is planning retaliatory measures against sanctions imposed by the US over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal, which caused the rouble to fall to its lowest level since November 2016 this morning.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this afternoon that Moscow was starting to work on measures following Washington’s decision to impose sanctions, which she claimed were using the Salisbury attacks in March as a pretext.
Earlier in the day the Kremlin hit back at the “categorically unacceptable” measures, describing them as “absolutely illegal”. He argued Russia “could not have any connection to the use of chemical weapons”.
The intervention came as the rouble-dollar rate reached 66.7 on the Moscow Stock Exchange. On Tuesday the rouble rate had stood at 63.4.
The share prices of several major Russian firms, including Aeroflot, Rusal and Sberbank, also fell several percentage points in Moscow on Thursday.
Last night the US State Department said it had determined that Russia was behind the use of the nerve agent Novichok to try to assassinate Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March, adding new sanctions would be imposed as a result.
A UK investigation has already blamed Russia for the attack, resulting in the expulsion of spies from multiple allies including the US.
Although Skripal and his daughter recovered after intensive care in hospital, another woman Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with the agent on 30 June.
UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked the US for its intervention, saying in a tweet that nerve agents and other “horrific” weapons must not become a new norm, and “states like Russia that use or condone their use need to know there is a price to pay”.
But Russia’s delegation to the international chemical weapons watchdog said on Thursday that the West was acting as judge, jury and executioner.
“Collective West in the so-called #Novichok drama acts as a prosecutor, judge and hangman at the same time. Why should (Russia) prove its innocence and not the other way round?” the delegation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons wrote on its official Twitter account.