U.S. Senate votes near unanimously for Russia, Iran sanctions

EghtesadOnline: The U.S. Senate voted nearly unanimously on Thursday for legislation to impose new sanctions on Russia, and to force President Donald Trump to get Congress' approval before easing any existing sanctions on Russia.

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15 June 2017

In a move that could complicate U.S. President Donald Trump's desire for warmer relations with Moscow, the Senate backed the measure by 98-2. Republican Senator Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, were the only two "no" votes.

The measure is intended to punish Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and support for Syria's government in the six-year-long civil war, Reuters reported.

If passed, it would put into law sanctions previously established via former President Barack Obama's executive orders, including some on Russian energy projects. It allows new sanctions on Russian mining, metals, shipping and railways and targets Russians guilty of conducting cyber attacks or supplying weapons to Syria's government.

"The legislation sends a very, very strong signal to Russia, the nefarious activities they've been involved in," Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as lawmakers debated the measure.

If the measure became law, it could complicate relations with some countries in Europe. Germany and Austria said the new punitive measures could expose European companies involved in projects in Russia to fines.

The legislation sets up a review process that would require Trump to get Congress' approval before taking any action to ease, suspend or lift any sanctions on Russia.

Trump was especially effusive about Russian president Vladimir Putin during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, though his openness to closer ties to Moscow has tempered somewhat, with his administration on the defensive over investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the election.

Putin dismissed the proposed sanctions, saying they reflected an internal political struggle in the United States, and that Washington's policy of imposing sanctions on Moscow had always been to try to contain Russia.

The bill also includes new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program and other activities not related to the international nuclear agreement reached with the United States and other world powers.

NEXT THE HOUSE, AND WHITE HOUSE

To become law, the legislation must pass the House of Representatives and be signed by Trump. House aides said they expected the chamber would begin to debate the measure in coming weeks. They could not predict when it might face a final vote.

Secretary of state Rex Tillerson had questioned the legislation on Wednesday, urging Congress to ensure that any legislation "allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation".

However, aides in both chambers said they expected support for the bill would be strong enough to override a Trump veto if necessary.

Previously, U.S. energy sanctions had only targeted Russia's future high-tech energy projects, such as drilling for oil in the Arctic, fracking and offshore drilling. They blocked U.S. companies such as Exxon Mobil, where Tillerson was chairman, from investing in such projects.

The new bill would slap sanctions on companies in other countries looking to invest in those projects in the absence of U.S. companies, a practice known as backfilling.

Also included for the first time are discretionary measures the Trump administration could impose on investments by companies in Western countries on Russia energy export pipelines to Europe.

Lawmakers also voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to add provisions to the bill allowing the U.S. space agency NASA to continue using Russian-made rocket engines and reaffirming the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance.