US to impose sanctions on Russia in wake of Syrian chemical attack

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Nikki Haley announced on Sunday the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia following the deadly suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria last week. 

“Russia sanctions will be coming down. [Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin will be announcing those on Monday if he hasn’t already, and they will be going directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to [Syrian leader Bashar] Assad and chemical weapons use,” Haley told CBS News’s Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.”

{mosads}”So I think everyone is going to be feeling it at this point. I think everyone knows that we sent a strong message, and our hope is that they listen to us,” she said. 

The sanctions are designed to hit Russia for its support for the Assad government after last week’s apparent chemical attack on Syrian civilians. 

Assad and Russia have denied involvement in the attack. 

The U.S., along with France and the U.K., launched over 100 missiles at three targets in Syria on Friday in response to the attack. 

Russia, in turn, proposed a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council aimed at condemning “the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic by the U.S. and its allies in violation of international law and the U.N. Charter.”

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday voted against the proposal.