Russia Will Respond To New U.S. Sanctions, Foreign Minister Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said ominously on Tuesday that the Russian government would respond to United States sanctions imposed this week, punishing his country for the assassination attempt of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. 

“When there is nothing to show to substantiate their claims about the Navalny poisoning, when all those who treated him hide the facts that would help understand what happened to him … instead of honestly cooperating and revealing the facts, they begin to punish us … this gives no credit to anyone who makes such decisions. And we will definitely respond,” said Lavrov in a Moscow press conference.

The U.S. intelligence community has conclusively agreed that the Russian government and more specifically the Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti (FSB) orchestrated the attempted assassination of Navalny.

It is unclear what avenue Russia and President Vladimir Putin may take to fight back against rising sanctions from both the United States and the European Union, but it seems clear that they will.