Russia Responds to Sanctions, Will Expand US 'Black List'

It'll add more Americans to its sanctions list: Sergei Ryabkov
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 16, 2018 6:08 AM CDT
How Russia Plans to Respond to US Sanctions
In this Jan. 26, 2018, photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.   (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Hours after the Trump administration announced sanctions against 19 individuals and five entities in response to Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Russia vowed to respond in kind. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Friday said Russia would be adding more Americans to its own sanctions list. "From the very beginning, we use the principle of parity on the number of people included in sanction lists. So we will expand our 'black list' with another group of Americans," Ryabkov said, per Reuters. The Wall Street Journal adds this quote: "Other steps are possible on our part, which we will calibrate, according to our own interests." Ryabkov added Russia is not looking to end its dialogue with the US, per Euro News.

Also Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would expel British diplomats in response to the eviction of 23 Russian diplomats, announced Wednesday, reports the Washington Post. London's move came after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter on British soil. Formally backed by the US, France, and Germany, British Prime Minister Theresa May has blamed Russia for the attack, which used a Russian-made nerve agent, though Russia has issued only denials. In one case, a Russian lawmaker suggested the US may have stolen the nerve agent from the facility where it was made in the 1990s. (More Russia stories.)

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