US president Donald Trump has said Washington’s relationship with Russia is at an “an all-time and very dangerous low,” and blamed Congress for the situation.
His comments came a day after he grudgingly signed into law sanctions against Moscow.
Congress overwhelmingly approved the sanctions last week, leaving Mr Trump with little choice but to sign the legislation although he has long expressed a desire for better ties with Russia.
Even as he signed the bill on Wednesday, Mr Trump strongly criticised it. He complained the measure, which allows Congress to stop him from easing sanctions on Russia, infringed on his presidential powers to shape foreign policy. Russia responded by saying the sanctions amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration.
“Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low,” Mr Trump said in a Twitter post on Thursday.
“You can thank Congress, the same people that can’t even give us HCare!” he added, referring to a setback this month when his fellow Republicans, who control both chambers in Congress, failed to push healthcare legislation through the Senate.
Hamstrung
Mr Trump’s desire for better ties with Moscow has been hamstrung by the findings of US intelligence agencies that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s government meddled in the 2016 U.S presidential election campaign.
US congressional panels and a special counsel are investigating. Moscow denies any meddling and mr Trump denies any collusion by his campaign. Congress passed the new sanctions to punish Russia over the election interference and the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.
Republicans and Democrats usually are strongly divided on many issues but the measure drew wide support from both parties.
Senator Tom Cotton, asked about Mr Trump’s tweet in an MSNBC interview, agreed US-Russian ties were “at a very low point” but rejected the president’s blame.
“Ultimately, the responsibility falls primarily on Vladimir Putin, ”he said, pointing to Russian actions over Ukraine, arms control treaty violations and alleged meddling in various Western nations. “We need to confront, put pressure on Vladimir Putin at every point.”
Despite Mr Trump’s public misgivings about the sanctions, Vice President Mike Pence presented a tough stance against Russia during a tour of Baltic states this week.
Mr Pence assured the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - all once part of the Soviet Union - that they would have U.S. support in the event of Russian aggression. Russia will hold large-scale military exercises in nearby Belarus this month.
Even before Mr Trump signed the bill, Mr Putin on Sunday ordered the United States to cut about 60 percent of its diplomatic staff in Russia by September 1st and took away a summer house used by US Embassy staff.
Reuters |