AKTAU. Aug 13 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described accusations brought against Russia by the United States Department of State over the Skripal case as absurd.
"As for the rejection of the latest act published by the Department of State, I believe, everyone, who is at least familiar with the so-called Skripal case, understands the absurdity of the statement contained in the official document of the Department of State [claiming] that the U.S. had established Russia's guilt in the Salisbury incident," Lavrov told reporters.
The Department of State said earlier that the U.S. would impose new sanctions against Russia in response to the events in Salisbury, UK, where former Russian intelligence operative Sergei Skripal and his daughter had been poisoned. According to the agency, sanctions will enter into effect "around August 22." The Department of State did not specify what restrictive measures exactly would be imposed.
In early March, Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found in grave condition in the British city of Salisbury. On March 12, British Prime Minister Theresa May said in the parliament that the Skripals had been poisoned with a nerve agent developed in Russia, Novichok (A-234). Moscow has resolutely rejected these accusations and said that Russia had finished disposing of all of its chemical weapons under the OPCW's supervision in 2017.