FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump could veto pending legislation that would slap new sanctions on Russia in order to push for a tougher deal, a top White House aide said on Thursday [7-27-17], as Moscow warned of retaliation if Washington pressed ahead with the measure.
The idea of Trump seeking to strengthen the sanctions drew skepticism given that the administration had spent weeks lobbying for a weaker bill.
The sanctions, which the U.S. House of Representatives has passed, have yet to be approved by the Senate or Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly denied U.S. allegations that Russia interfered with last year’s U.S. presidential election, said Moscow would only decide on how to retaliate once it had seen the final text of the proposed law.
Besides angering Moscow, the proposed legislation has upset the European Union, which has said the new sanctions might affect its energy security and prompt it to act, too.
Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats have pushed for more sanctions partly as a response to U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings of Kremlin interference in the election campaign.
The bill would affect a range of Russian industries and might further hurt the Russian economy, already weakened by 2014 sanctions imposed after the Ukraine crisis.”
-Patricia Zengerle and Denis Pinchuk, “Trump could seek ‘tougher’ Russia sanctions; Putin threatens retaliation,” Reuters, July 27, 2017 5:02am