The Trump administration says that the Moscow Congress has triggered new sanctions

The Trump administration told Congress that Russia had not complied with a series of conditions necessary for Moscow to evade a second round of US sanctions for the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.

This development, announced Tuesday by the State Department and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, means that a new round of sanctions against Russia will be automatically triggered by a law of 1991 on the elimination of chemical and biological weapons – a further deterioration of relations with Russia is foreseen. time of strong tensions.

In a statement, state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the department was "consulting Congress on next steps" as required by law.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Ed RoyceEdward (Ed) Randall RoyceIt's time to recognize the services rendered to Sino-US veterans of the Second World War by the US Congressional Gold Medal Trump addresses the deadline of election day in Russia With the PNIF under water, expand the role of the private sector (R-Calif.) Stated that the Administration had not provided Congress with details of what the sanctions would entail or when they would be imposed, which he described as "unacceptable".

"No one should be surprised that Vladimir Putin refuses to swear an oath of future use of military grade nerve agents. It is unacceptable that the administration does not have a plan – or even a timetable – to follow up on the second set of mandatory sanctions imposed by US law, "said Royce, who is retiring at the end of this convention. in a statement.

"In recent years, Russia has been engaged in a pattern of rampant intoxications – including the 14 March nervous attack on UK soil," said Royce. "The Trump administration must act quickly to defend its own determination. The hesitation encourages that more Russian aggression. "

In August, under pressure from Congress, the Trump government announced new sanctions for the use of a military-level nerve agent in a plot to assassinate former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury last March.

The most damaging sanctions imposed by the 1991 Law on the Control of Chemical and Biological Weapons and the Elimination of War blocked the exports of sensitive goods of national security to Russia.

A second set of sanctions is automatically triggered three months later if the administration does not certify to the Congress that Russia fulfills a series of strict conditions – including showing that it no longer uses biological or chemical weapons in violation of international law and allows the United Nations to control its facilities to prove it.

The Trump administration had a deadline on Tuesday to inform Congress that Moscow fulfilled the requirements of the law.

Before the deadline of November 6, it was widely expected that Moscow, which denied any involvement in intoxication by Skripal, will not meet the conditions provided by law.

The administration is required to choose three of the six categories of sanctions provided by law. Options include additional restrictions on US exports to Russia; restrictions on importation; suspension of diplomatic relations with Moscow; suspension of air travel to and from the United States by Russian government-owned air carriers; and sanctions that prevent Russia from receiving assistance from a multilateral development bank or US bank loans.

"The Department is currently consulting Congress on the next steps to follow 90 days after the initial decision of August 6, 2018," Nauert said Tuesday. "We intend to proceed in accordance with the terms of CBW law, which governs the implementation of additional sanctions."

Several weeks will probably be necessary for the new sanctions to come into force after the announcement of the details, as was the case when the authorities unveiled the first round of sanctions in August.

Developments may exacerbate tensions between the United States and Moscow, which are already on the rise as a result of President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pauses Missouri campaign rally after woman collapse Fox News hosts join Trump at Missouri campaign rally, Nate Silver during the final screenings at mid-week course: "Democrats need two things to go wrong" to lose the house MOREThe decision to withdraw from a decades-long nuclear pact with Russia and Moscow's interference in the 2016 elections.

Relations with Russia have deteriorated despite Trump's wish to establish better relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two leaders were to meet on the sidelines of the Armistice Day celebrations in Paris on Nov. 11, but Trump questioned Monday, saying they would meet at the top of the Group of 20 in Argentina in late November.