Any Russian response to
Moscow stepped up its war of words against Washington Wednesday after the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of imposing new sanctions. A prominent member of the upper house of Russia's parliament said that the country should consider a "painful" response for the U.S.
"Judging by the unanimous vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the sanctions package against Russia, Iran and North Korea, there will be no breakthrough (in U.S. and Russia relations) … In fact, further degradation of bilateral cooperation is becoming inevitable," Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the Russian Foreign Relations Committee and member of the ruling United Russia party, said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
The planned sanctions on Russia were initiated to further punish the country for its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and alleged role in the destabilization of eastern Ukraine. The bill, which passed by 419 votes to three, proposes new restrictions on oil and gas projects.