The Kremlin on Monday warned that new US
sanctions on Russia would hit the interests
of both sides as Congress gears up to
approved fresh punitive measures.
“We consider such a continuation of the
rhetoric of sanctions counter-productive
and harmful to the interests of both
countries,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov said.
In mid-June, the US Senate overwhelmingly
passed tough sanctions, but the text stalled
in the House of Representatives, until
agreement was reached on Saturday.
The House is now set to vote Tuesday on a
bill that targets Russia — for its alleged
meddling in the 2016 presidential election
and its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine
in 2014 — as well as Iran and North Korea,
for its ballistic missile tests.
Initially, US President Donald Trump resisted
the legislation, which would prevent him
from unilaterally easing penalties against
Moscow in the future — effectively placing
him under Congress’s watch.
But he seems to be left with little option but
to sign off on the move as a political
firestorm swirls over potential collusion
between his campaign and Russia.
Peskov said the Kremlin is still waiting and
watching to see if Trump will approve the
measures, after White House
communications director Anthony
Scaramucci said the US leader was weighing
his decision.
Before Trump definitively takes a decision it
is too early to talk about any potential
counter measure from Moscow, Peskov said.
Ties between Moscow and Washington have
slumped to their lowest since the Cold War
as the US slapped sanctions on Moscow over
it meddling in Ukraine.
Russia had hoped that Trump’s election
might ease relations between the two sides,
but those prospects have dimmed in the
face of a major political pushback in
Washington.
