Kremlin to retaliate against UK sanctions

Russia will respond with reciprocal measures to British sanctions against 25 Russians, including the country's top state investigator, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"We can only regret such unfriendly steps," Peskov said. "Of course, the principle of reciprocity and some kind of retaliatory response will apply to the extent that it suits the interests of the Russian Federation."

The United Kingdom on Monday announced economic sanctions against individuals and organizations from four countries, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, under new UK powers to stop the laundering of "blood money".

Speaking in Parliament, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the sanctions targeted those behind "some of the notorious human rights violations in recent years".

The list of 49 individuals and organizations includes 20 Saudis accused of involvement in the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, and 25 Russians who Britain claimed were involved in the mistreatment and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009.

The Russians targeted include Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin, Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin and Deputy Minister of the Interior Alexey Anichin.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed the decision, saying: "This sanctions regime marks the beginning of a new era for UK sanctions policy and cooperation between our two democracies."

Britain has previously imposed sanctions as part of the European Union or under the auspices of the United Nations. Since leaving the EU in January, it has implemented its own version of the US' Magnitsky Act, which allows authorities to ban or seize assets of individuals guilty of human rights abuses.

According to the Reuters, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to forge a new independent role for Britain in foreign and trade affairs and this was the first time London could impose asset freezes and visa bans independently.

"The sanctions against individuals and organizations are the first wave of designations under the new regime, with further sanctions expected in the coming months," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.

The Russian embassy in UK said in a statement that the decision is an outrageous step, adding that Moscow reserves the right to retaliate.

London's decision falls in line with its idea of the UK as the "world leader" in sanctions on sovereign states, it said.

Russia's Tass news agency reported that Raab met with Sergei Magnitsky's widow Natalia and his son Nikita on Monday.

"All answers to existing questions regarding the circumstances of Sergei Magnitsky's death have already been provided. This British decision was quite obviously aimed solely at public effect," the embassy said.

Leonid Slutsky, head of the foreign affairs committee in the State Duma, denounced the sanctions as "Russophobic nonsense".

"London has made another move toward degradation of Russia-UK relations," he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

Agencies contributed to this story.