15 Apr 2018 17:22

U.S. preparing new sanctions against Russia, this time for supporting al-Assad - media

MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) - Washington has warned Moscow of preparing new sanctions over Russia's support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the Kommersant newspaper wrote, citing unnamed sources.

"One of these days U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman sent the Russian Foreign Ministry a letter saying that the U.S. authorities were preparing new sanctions against Russia. This time, simply 'for the support' for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad," the article said.

The letter consisted of two parts, the paper said.

"In the second part of his message Jon Huntsman notifies Moscow that Washington intends to introduce new sanctions against time. This time, for supporting the Syrian regime," the article said.

The first part of the letter "sets out the motivation behind the military operation against Syria launched by Americans and their allies," the paper said.

"In the U.S. view, the Syrian authorities were responsible for the use of chemical weapons against their own people, and the international community must take steps to stop Bashar al-Assad," Kommersant said.