The U.S. ambassador to the UN says Washington will announce new sanctions against Russian companies with links to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.<br />Nikki Haley's comments on Sunday came after the U.S., UK and France carried out airstrikes on targets in Syria for a suspected chemical weapons attack earlier this month.<br />Ro Aram has more.<br /> <br /> Tensions between Russia and the West have reached a point that is very reminiscent of the Cold War. <br />The U.S. and Russia again traded barbs at the UN Security Council over the weekend, with Russia's UN ambassador condemning the joint airstrikes on Syrian chemical weapons facilities as a violation of international law.<br />He said they dealt a blow to the political settlement in the divided Middle Eastern nation.<br />Syria and its ally Russia deny any poison gas attack took place, but Western nations say it did. <br />The U.S. envoy to the UN, however, did not back down, hinting at more use of force to future Syrian chemical attacks. <br /><br /> "I spoke to the president this morning and he said if the Syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again the United States is locked and loaded"<br /><br /> She also told a CBS interview that new sanctions against Russian companies with links to the Assad regime would be announced Monday. <br />She indicated they would aimed at sending a message to Russia, which she said has blocked six attempts by the UN Security Council to make it easier to investigate the use of chemical weapons.<br /> As the pressure on Moscow mounts, President Putin warned that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs.<br />In a statement, the Kremlin said Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, another Assad ally, agreed the Western strikes had damaged the chances of achieving a political resolution in the seven-year Syria conflict.<br />Ro Aram, Arirang News. <br />
