US formally lifts sanctions on Russia's Sukhoi

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) The United States has formally lifted sanctions against Russian warplane manufacturer Sukhoi but will continue to look at the company's activities, the State Department said today.

The sanctions were imposed in late July against Sukhoi for selling restricted items to Iran but were formally lifted yesterday, based on information provided by the state-run company and the Russian government, said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

''After reviewing the case, with this new information and other information available to us, we in fact did decide to terminate those sanctions,'' said Casey.

Casey said there were a ''number of other things that we'll be looking at'' based on the new information.

''In the event that we find that there are other individuals or entities that might potentially be involved in illicit transactions, we'd certainly take these kinds of steps with them, too,'' he said, declining to elaborate further.

President George W Bush informed Russia's President Vladimir Putin of the move when they met briefly in Moscow last week but Casey said the decision became effective only after the US Congress was notified.

Asked about sanctions imposed at the same time against Russian state export agency Rosoboronexport, Casey said punitive measures had not been removed against that firm.

''I'm not aware of any new information or other review related to the second firm,'' said Casey.

When the sanctions were imposed, the Kremlin branded them as an ''unfriendly act'' and said they could have negative consequences for relations between the United States and Russia.

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