US mulls more sanctions against Russia over Kremlin critics poisoning

Washington: The United States is preparing for more sanctions against Russia over the alleged poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, said Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday.

when asked whether the US administration will put further pressure on Moscow over Navalny in an interview with CNN, Sullivan said, "We are preparing another package of sanctions to apply in this case as well,"

"It will come as soon as we have developed the packages to ensure that we are getting the right targets. And when we do that, we will impose further sanctions concerning chemical weapons," he added.

Sullivan's comments came days after President Joe Biden met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Geneva of Switzerland, the first meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office.

Earlier in March, the Biden administration announced multiple sanctions and restrictions against Russian individuals and entities over the alleged poisoning of Navalny.

The US intelligence community assessed that Russia's Federal Security Service officers used a nerve agent known as Novichok to poison Navalny on August 20, 2020.

However, Russia has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying the Navalny case is a purely domestic affair and foreign intervention is not allowed.