The United States announced yesterday its desire to accelerate the deployment of new missiles in Asia in the coming months, and Washington announced the imposition of a new set of sanctions against Russia, against the poisoning of the former Russian spy, Sergey Scrippal, in British Salisbury in 2018.
He accused Russian intelligence agents of poisoning Scrippal and his daughter in the English city last March with nerve gas that was developed during the Soviet era. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagos said in a statement Washington would oppose any loan or assistance Technology to Russia by the international financial institutions, and will impose restrictions that prevent US banks from financing Russian sovereign debt.
The United States will also impose restrictions on exports of goods and technology to Russia, according to Ortagos. These measures, taken under a 1991 US law on the elimination of chemical and biological weapons, will come into effect on August 19 after reporting to Congress, Ortagos said.
The attack in Salisbury was the first chemical weapons attack in Europe since the Second World War, provoked international outrage and caused the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Western countries. Moscow denies any role in poisoning the spy and offered many different explanations. .
New Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said yesterday that the United States wants to accelerate the deployment of new missiles in Asia in the coming months, if possible, to contain the expansion of Chinese influence.
Asked about the possibility of Washington deploying new, medium-range conventional weapons in Asia, Esper told reporters on his flight to Sydney, as part of a week-long Asia tour: "Yes, we want to do it as soon as possible."
"It's better to do this in months, but it usually takes longer than expected," he said.
Esper did not specify where Washington plans to deploy such weapons. "I do not want to speculate, it's something we always discuss with allies," he said.
After accusing Russia of violating it years ago, the United States pulled out of the medium-range nuclear disarmament treaty signed by Washington and Moscow during the Cold War to completely curb land-based missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
Washington would have to compete with China, because most of Beijing's arsenal includes weapons banned under the treaty, which China did not sign. Esper said China should not be surprised by US plans. "It should not be a surprise because we have been talking about it for some time now, Short, I would like to stress that 80% of its arsenal is composed of weapons covered by the Medium Arms Treaty. "
Washington says it will impose restrictions that prevent US banks from financing Russian sovereign debt.