Britain and the US join in sanctioning those responsible for poisoning Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin critic.
The US state department released the joint statement on Friday.
Early Friday, Britain sanctioned seven alleged Russian Intelligence agents under suspicion of poisoning Navalny.
Britain described this action as a warning to Russia after the latter’s use of chemical weapons.
However, the statement did not specify any particular actions.
Navalny’s poisoning
Authorities transferred Navalny to Germany for treatment after the poisoning incident on August 20, in Siberia last year.
Also, western specialists said they deduced the poison used against Navalny the military nerve agent Novichok.
Yet, Moscow denied the incident and accused the western countries of smearing Russia’s reputation.
The British government published an updated list on the anniversary of Navalny’s poisoning.
Evidently, the up-to-date list provided seven new names.
“The sanctioned individuals are directly responsible for planning or carrying out the attack on Mr. Navalny,” stated the foreign office.
Besides, Britain implemented the sanctions in cooperation with the United States.
Chemical embargo
“We’re sending a clear message that Russia’s use of chemical weapons violates international law,” said Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab.
“A transparent criminal investigation must be held,” he added.
The sanctions on the named individuals working with overseas assets will limit their travel.
The list named Alexey Alexandrov, Vladimir Panyaev, Ivan Osipov, Vladimir Bogdanov, Kirill Vasilyev, Stanislav Makshakov and Alexei Sedov.
The list highlights they were all FSB members.
Additionally, they were directly or indirectly involved in poisoning Navalny.
The Kremlin and the named individuals did not have any prompt comment.
Moreover, the document provides phone and travel records showing some of the named men present in Tomsk around the time of the poisoning.
As for others, the document said the sanctions were reasonable, as they hold prominent positions in Russian Intelligence.
“They had responsibility for, provided support for, or promoted the actions of the operatives who carried out the operation.” The document states.
Russian authorities arrested and jailed Navalny under the pretext of parole violation when he arrived in Russia from Germany.
Furthermore, he said the charges are sham and politically motivated.
“We call on Russia to comply fully with the Chemical Weapons Convention,” the joint statement said.
