Washington (CNN) The State Department told lawmakers Tuesday that Russia failed to certify that it is not using chemical weapons, missing a deadline set back in August after the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the United Kingdom earlier this year.

The declaration, widely expected, was met with frustration by lawmakers who pointed out that the administration should also have been ready to announce a second tranche of sanctions against Moscow. The delay, congressional sources said, once again raised questions as to why the administration seems to be drag its feet on punishing Russia.

"Today, the Department informed Congress we could not certify that the Russian Federation met the conditions required by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a written statement.

Rep. Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Tuesday that "no one should be surprised that Vladimir Putin refuses to swear off future use of weapons-grade nerve agents." And he blasted the administration for missing its own deadline.

'It is unacceptable'

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