U.S. Opens Door to New Russia Sanctions After Chemical Attack

Nick Wadhams,

 Anna Edgerton

The State Department notified Congress that Russia ignored a deadline to swear off the use of chemical weapons, a person familiar with the matter said, prompting the possibility of new sanctions linked to a nerve-agent attack in the U.K.

The department determined that Russia hasn’t met the terms of a 1991 law that required it to assure the U.S. that it will no longer use chemical or biological weapons, and allow inspections to verify the claim, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a private communication.

State Department officials declined to comment when asked about the reported decision.

The U.S. invoked the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act in August, and then imposed a new round of sanctions to punish President Vladimir Putin’s government for a nerve-agent attack against former spy Sergey Skripal and his daughter in the U.K. in March. Under the law, Russia had 90 days to demonstrate that it would renounce the use of chemical weapons and allow inspectors.

That Russia would make such a gesture was seen as highly unlikely given that it’s denied any role in the attack against Skripal. Russian officials had strongly condemned the U.S. sanctions action in August.

Now President Donald Trump faces a choice: The 1991 law demands new, sweeping sanctions including a downgrading in diplomatic relations, blanket bans on the import of Russian oil and exports of “all other goods and technology” aside from agricultural products, as well as limits on loans from U.S. banks.

Trump can avert those sanctions if he concludes that waiving them is in the U.S. national interest. That means he must weigh a nearly complete rupture in ties with Russia against the possibility of renewed criticism that he’s been too soft on Russia on issues including interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

U.S. officials suggest there’s no rush to make a decision. In a briefing on Nov. 1, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said the U.S. would be required to impose sanctions “after consultations with the Congress” but said there’s no required timeline for when those consultations should end.

“We are required to begin coordination and consultation with the United States Congress, and that’s something that we will do,” Palladino said.

The lack of a path forward prompted criticism from Representative Ed Royce, the California Republican, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“No one should be surprised that Vladimir Putin refuses to swear off future use of weapons-grade nerve agents,” Royce said. “It is unacceptable that the administration lacks a plan -- or even a timeline -- for action on the second round of mandatory sanctions required by U.S. law.”

After a Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki in July, where Trump was widely criticized for failing to call Putin to account over the election meddling, the U.S. administration came under new pressure to take tougher steps against Russia, even as Trump himself has called for closer ties.

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