MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. The incumbent US administration is driving both its relations with Moscow and its international image into a corner with new anti-Russian sanctions, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Envoy for Human Rights, Democracy and Law Supremacy Konstantin Dolgov wrote on his Twitter page on Tuesday.

"The Obama administration convulsing in the agony of anti-Russian sanctions is driving not only the relations with Russia but also the US international image into a corner," the diplomat said.

On January 9, the US Department of the Treasury blacklisted five Russian individuals in connection with the Magnitsky Act for human rights abuses. Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin, Stanislav Gordiyevsky, Dmitry Kovtun, Andrei Lugovoi and Gennady Plaksin have been sanctioned. According to Russian media, Plaksin used to be Chairman of the Universal Savings Bank Board while Gordiyevsky used to work for the Investigative Committee.

As the news agency Reuters reported on Tuesday, a group of influential US senators has proposed new sanctions against Russian officials and also against those people who cooperate with the Russian defense or intelligence sectors. The legislative initiative envisages visa bans and a freeze on possible assets.