<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen has said that it would be unfortunate if the US imposes any new sanctions against Bangladesh, reports the official news agency BSS. Addressing the media in Dhaka on Monday, Dr. Momen said that there is no reason for the US to impose new sanctions on Bangladesh. He said 'we don't have any idea about new sanctions as it depends on the individual country.'</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;"><br />''</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">The controversy about fresh US sanctions against Bangladesh started after a local newspaper Kalbela reported that the US will impose fresh sanctions against some former and current officials and political figures involved in maintaining law and order for their involvement in political oppression of the opposition, destroying democracy and involvement in corruption. It cited growing distance between the Bangladesh government and the US due to sanctions against some officials of its elite law enforcement agency Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), US refusal to return the killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib and utterances of the current US Ambassador to Dhaka Peter Haas about elections and other issues. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;"><br />''</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has strongly criticised the US in some of her recent statements. In a recent interview to BBC Prime Minister Hasina said the US does not want to see her in power, the Kalbela report said. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;"><br />''</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Earlier, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday, had strongly protested the newspaper report which claimed that Foreign Minister Dr. Momen worked as a lobbyist for a Chinese firm before becoming minister. Calling the media report false and baseless, MoFA said it was done with an ulterior motive to defame the Foreign Minister. </span></p>