Russia’s government will add more Americans to its “black list” in response to new sanctions against Russians accused of election meddling.
The Latest on the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office says Australian leader Malcolm Turnbull has joined her in condemnation of the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in southwestern England.
May’s office said in a statement that the two leaders spoke about the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia. The pair are hospitalized in critical condition in Salisbury, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of London.
May told Turnbull that she visited Salisbury on Thursday and that the act “represented an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the U. K.”
Downing Street says Turnbull “expressed his complete solidarity with the U. K. and its response to the attack.”
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11:45 a.m.
Russia’s government will add more Americans to its “black list” in response to new sanctions against Russians accused of election meddling.
Tensions with Moscow are growing before Russia’s presidential election Sunday, after a nerve agent attack in Britain on a Russian ex-spy.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted Friday by news agency RIA Novosti as saying that Russia is preparing sanctions against “a new group of American actors” and possible “additional steps.”
He said Russia would target the same number of people as the U. S. but didn’t say what the sanctions would involve.
Ryabkov said he doesn’t want to definitively close the door to dialogue and accused the U. S. of threatening global stability.
The Trump administration announced sanctions Thursday on 19 Russians and five companies accused of meddling in the 2016 U. S. election.
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10:55 a.m.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia will kick out British diplomats in a worsening standoff over a nerve agent attack, but still isn’t saying when or how many.
Lavrov on Friday accused Britain of violating international law and criticized Britain’s defense minister for what he called “uneducated” comments about Russia.
Britain says the Russian state is behind the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. The United States, France and Germany also condemned Russia over the attack.
Russia denies being the source of the nerve agent used and has demanded Britain share samples collected by investigators.
Lavrov said Russia will “of course” expel British diplomats and that he hopes the Skripals recover soon so light can be shed on what happened.
