U.S. accused of aggravating situation by threatening to arrest Russian assets

The U. S. is inflaming tensions by threatening to arrest Russian assets in the country over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the poisoning of former intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, Aleksey Chepa, a lawmaker said.

Earlier in the day, Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman did not rule out that Washington might arrest
Russian assets in the U. S. in the wake of the attack on Skripal and his daughter.

Chepa, the Deputy Chair of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, told Sputnik: “threats will not lead to any constructive steps.

“Instead of investigating the Skripal case, the U. S. intentionally aggravates the situation.”

Also speaking, Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told Sputnik that foreign investors would withdraw their assets from the U. S. in case of the arrest of Russian assets in the country.

“If this happens, international investors, primarily from China and other countries, will massively leave the U.S.

“This will be a clear signal that investing money in the U.S. economy is unsafe, private capital is not protected by anything there, by any law,” Dzhabarov said.

Huntsman said that new measures might be introduced in line with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act , which was introduced in 2017 in response to allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.

He noted that he had never seen such unity among the Republicans and Democrats regarding the sanctions.

Skripal, a double agent who worked for UK intelligence, and his daughter Yulia have been hospitalised in critical condition since being exposed to what British experts claim was a A234 nerve agent on March 4 in England.

London has stated that it was “highly likely” that Moscow was behind the attack. UK government responded by expelling 23 Russian diplomats from the country.

Expressing solidarity with the UK, the U.S. and over 20 other countries also expelled Russian diplomats.

Moscow said that it would prepare timely response measures.