Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) issued the following statement after the administration, per Royce’s urging, determined that Russia violated international law in the poisoning of British citizen Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia:

“The administration is rightly acting to uphold international bans on the use of chemical weapons. The mandatory sanctions that follow this determination are key to increasing pressure on Russia. Vladimir Putin must know that we will not tolerate his deadly acts, or his ongoing attacks on our democratic process.”

NOTE: In a March 15 letter, Chairman Royce formally requested a determination, pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, regarding whether Russia was responsible for the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter in the United Kingdom. In a letter two weeks ago, Royce again pressed the issue with the administration.

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