US holds off imposing new sanctions on Moscow

The Trump administration yesterday appeared to have reconsidered immediately imposing new sanctions on Russia that would have targeted companies providing the Syrian regime with military equipment or material for chemical weapons.

“We are considering additional sanctions on Russia and a decision will be made in the near future,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

The US envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, had said the day before that sanctions would be announced yesterday, after US-led missile strikes on Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s chemical weapons facilities at the weekend.

“Russian sanctions will be coming down, [Treasury] Secretary Mnuchin will be announcing those on Monday if he hasn’t already, and they will go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to Assad and chemical weapons use,” Ms Haley told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.

She said the sanctions would be part of a deterrent message that the US is sending Russia and Iran on chemical weapons use in Syria.

Earlier this month, the US sanctioned the state-owned Russian arms agency Rosoboroneksport, accusing it of arming Mr Al Assad.

The delay in announcing new sanctions suggests either the Trump administration may be slowing the process while considering other steps, or that Ms Haley misspoke on Sunday.

These deliberations may include a new draft resolution submitted at the UN Security Council this week, sponsored by the US, France and Britain – the three countries that carried out Saturday’s missile strikes.

The resolution proposes “to establish an independent mechanism based on the principles of impartiality and professionalism to investigate the use of chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic”, according to a draft copy obtained by The National.

It also asks the UN secretary general, in co-ordination with the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons “to submit to the Security Council, within seven days of the adoption of this resolution, recommendations, including terms of reference, to the Security Council, and to identify to the greatest extent feasible individuals, entities, groups, or governments who were perpetrators, organisers, sponsors or otherwise involved in the use of chemicals weapons, including chlorine or any other toxic chemical, in the Syrian Arab Republic”.

It also calls for unfettered access to the town of Douma, the site of the chemical attack that triggered the western retaliation, which OPCW inspectors were barred from visiting for “security reasons”.

The discussions on the draft are expected to continue this week. Russia, which vetoed a similar resolution last week, may also reject this one, even though it also calls for a political solution in Syria.

The White House is seeking a carrot-and-stick approach with Russia on Syria. According to The Wall Street Journal, it was US President Donald Trump who opted for a more restrained military option in carrying out the strikes.

After at least four meetings at the White House last week, Mr Trump “agreed on one of the most restrained of the military-strike options crafted by the Pentagon”, launching 105 missiles at the Syrian regime chemical weapons targets.

Donald Trump is reported to have opted for a more restrained military option in carrying out the strikes