Menendez Calls on Pres. Trump to Impose Mandatory Sanctions on Russia for Chemical Weapons Use

NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement calling on the Trump Administration not to delay the imposition of a second round of mandatory sanctions required by the Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 resulting from the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in England earlier this year:

“As the possibility of another meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin increases, I strongly urge the President to put in place the second round of sanctions required by U.S. law for Russia’s use of chemical weapons.   The administration notified Congress it had determined that Russia had failed to halt its use of chemical and biological weapons within the 90 days deadline imposed by the Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare Elimination Act. And now is the time to act. In order to get serious about holding Russia accountable, the administration must follow the law and swiftly impose an impactful second round of sanctions to effectively deter further use of chemical weapons by the Kremlin.”

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