The Kremlin: US sanctions against Russia is sad and depressing news
The Kremlin is not providing a detailed response to the US sanctions against Russia for now. However, the news about the sanctions are "sad" from the point of view of Russian-American relations, as stated by the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov.
"Presently we are just talking about the bill, so we cannot give any substantive assessments. The response to this will be formulated after careful analysis, and the decision will certainly be made by the head of state, President Vladimir Putin," the Kremlin spokesman said.
"It still needs to pass the Senate, let's wait until this bill becomes law," he added.
At the same time, the Kremlin considers the fact that this bill was approved "extremely sad and depressing."
"This news is very sad from the point of view of Russian-American relations and the prospects for their development. And no less depressing from the point of view of international law and international trade relations," Peskov said.
He stated that his assessment was based on "the information on the bill that is available to us."
Responding to a request to comment on the statement by the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Konstantin Kosachev on the need to give a reciprocal response to new sanctions, Peskov stated that "foreign policy decisions are made by the Russian President."
"If and when such decisions are made, we will let you know. All other statements by our parliamentarians are understandable. We are talking about an extremely unfriendly situation, so the reaction is obvious," Peskov said.
The US House of Representatives adopted a bill titled, "Counteraction to Opponents of America by means of Sanctions,” which places a great importance on supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as strengthening sanctions against the Russian Federation.
Before this bill takes effect, it must be approved by the Senate and signed by the President of the United States.
In discussing this issue, the State Duma of Russia has made suggestions on how to respond to US sanctions. One suggestion was to introduce sanctions against McDonald's fast food chain.