Politics
07:03, 28-Jul-2017
US Senate votes for new sanctions against Russia, Iran and DPRK
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The US Senate passed a bill imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran and the DPRK 98-2 on Thursday, despite objections from President Donald Trump.
The bill will now be sent to the White House for Trump to sign into law or veto.
The House of Representatives passed the bill with a 419-3 vote on Tuesday.
It is the first major foreign policy legislation approved by Congress under Trump, who has struggled to advance his domestic agenda despite Republicans controlling the Senate and House of Representatives.
If Trump chooses to veto it, the bill is expected to garner enough support in both chambers to override his veto and pass it into law.
The sanctions against Russian were in part punishment for the Ukraine crisis and a response to conclusions by US intelligence agencies that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 US presidential election.
US President Donald Trump /AFP Photo
US President Donald Trump /AFP Photo
The US president denies any collusion between his campaign and Moscow.
On Thursday, Russian President Putin said on a visit to Finland that Russia at some moment will have to retaliate, and Russia was "exercising restraint and patience," adding that "now these sanctions – they are also absolutely unlawful from the point of view of international law."
"It's impossible to endlessly tolerate this boorishness towards our country," Putin said.
This sanction bill includes imposing sanctions against Iran's ballistic missile or weapons of mass destruction programs and package of financial sanctions against DPRK, which was "in violation of certain United Nations Security Council resolutions."
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