United Rusal : Russian tycoons to discuss U.S. sanctions threat with Putin next week - lobby group

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's top business people will discuss the threat of new U.S. sanctions with President Vladimir Putin next week, Alexander Shokhin, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, told reporters on Wednesday.

The United States and Western allies imposed sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 and have added more restrictions since then for Russia's alleged election meddling and role in poisoning a former Russian spy in Britain.

Moscow denies it interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election or that it was behind the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England.

U.S. lawmakers have spoken of imposing a fresh sanctions package on Russia, known as the "bill from hell", which would be designed to punish Moscow for what Washington has described as its malign activity.

The U.S. State Department has also spoken of imposing additional sanctions on Moscow over the Skripal affair.

Shokhin heads Russia's top business lobby whose members include Rusal co-owner Oleg Deripaska, Vagit Alekperov, a key shareholder in oil producer Lukoil, and Alfa Bank co-owner Mikhail Fridman.

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)