A clear example on how screwed up our U.S. Congress is and how they have Trumps hands tied?
Amendment imposes new sanctions against Moscow and also establishes a process for Congress to review any attempt by Trump to relax or end sanctions.
Senate approves new Russia sanctions as punishment for meddling in election
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/14/senate-proposes-new-russia-sanctions-meddling-election
The Senate has approved new sanctions against Russia, as punishment after it was found to have meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
The legislation also restricts the White House from easing sanctions without congressional approval.
The amendment on Russia, which passed in a 97-2 vote on Wednesday, was attached to a bill to strengthen sanctions on Iran. It codifies existing sanctions against Russia established by Barack Obama’s executive orders and imposes new sanctions against Moscow for its interference in the 2016 elections, aggression in Ukraine and support for the Syrian government.
The agreement establishes a process for Congress to review any attempt by Donald Trump to relax, suspend or terminate the sanctions.
Russia has canceled a planned round of talks with the US in protest at new sanctions imposed this week over Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine.
Russia cancels talks after US imposes new sanctions over Ukraine conflict
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/21/russia-cancels-us-talks-ukraine-sanctions
The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, denounced the new sanctions, which expanded the list of individuals and organisations targeted by the US treasury, as the responsibility of “avid Russophobes” in Congress who were determined to derail US-Russian relations.
As a result, Ryabkov said he was cancelling a meeting with his US counterpart, Tom Shannon, in St Petersburg later this week – which was supposed to have been part of a continuing dialogue between Washington and Moscow aimed at reducing “irritants” in bilateral relations.
The sanctions, Ryabkov said, had meant that the circumstances were “not conducive to holding this round of dialogue, particularly as there is no agenda set out for it, as Washington does not to want to make concrete proposals”.
In response, the state department expressed regret and said the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, was “open to future discussions”.
However, in a bluntly worded response to Ryabkov’s statement, the state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, insisted the new measures were intended to reinforce existing sanctions and were “designed to counter attempts to circumvent our sanctions”.
“Let’s remember that these sanctions didn’t just come out of nowhere. Our targeted sanctions were imposed in response to Russia’s ongoing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbor, Ukraine,” Nauert said.
“If the Russians seek an end to these sanctions, they know very well the US position,” she added, saying that Moscow would have to abide fully by the Minsk agreement for resolving the conflict in Ukraine and “end its occupation” of Crimea.
The cancellation of the St Petersburg meeting and the stern exchange of statements are part of a marked dip in US-Russian relations despite Donald Trump’s efforts to improve them. In Congress, House allies of Trump have stalled a Senate bill that would intensify sanctions further and take the power to lift them out of his hands.
On Wednesday, a plane carrying the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, was approached by a Nato F-16 fighter over the Baltic Sea, prompting a Russian fighter jet to insert itself between the two planes and tilting its wings to show it was armed.
The mid-air incident came a day after another close encounter above the Baltic between US and Russian warplanes.
The Pentagon spokesman, Capt Jeff Davis, said: “Due to the high rate of speed, the poor control that the Russian pilot had of his aircraft during the intercept, the aircraft commander of the [US reconnaissance plane] RC 135 determined it to be unsafe. Such unsafe actions have the potential to cause serious harm and injury to all involved.”
Sweden also reported that a Russian plane had come close to one of its military aircraft over the Baltic on Monday.
The Russian defence minister put out a statement saying that two US “spy planes” had been making “provocative” manoeuvres.
In Syria, meanwhile, Moscow has announced it had suspended a hotline between the US and Russian militaries in Syria and that it would view as targets any coalition planes flying west of the Euphrates river. The Pentagon has played down the threat, saying it continued to operate west of the Euphrates.
“Public statements aside, we have not seen the Russians do any actions that cause us concern. We continue to operate, making some adjustments for prudent measures,” Davis said.
Maxim Suchkov, a political analyst and editor of al-Monitor’s Russian coverage, said Moscow’s decision to cancel the St Petersburg talks “is explained by that given the recent events in Syria and Ukraine, Russia wants to raise the stakes and attempts to take its own ‘position of strength’ vis-a-vis Washington.”
“I’d say it’s a risky move on the Russian side, since in Washington the message to suspend the talks may be read differently from what Moscow intended it to sound,” Suchkov said.
Shortly after Russia's deputy foreign minister Ryabkov snubbed the US, cancelling a meeting with the Under Secretary of State Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., in retaliation to the Trump administration's announcement on Tuesday that it has imposed sanctions on 38 Russian individuals while a parallel bill of Russian sanctions is making its way through Congress, the US State Department issued a statement on US-Russian relations.
State Department Issues Statement On US-Russia Relations
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-21/state-department-issues-statement-us-russia-relations
Shortly after the Russian snub, the US State Department responded that it regrets "that Russia has decided to turn away from an opportunity to discuss bilateral obstacles" and then adds: "Let's remember that these sanctions didn't just come out of nowhere. Our targeted sanctions were imposed in response to Russia's ongoing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbor, Ukraine. If the Russians seek an end to these sanctions, they know very well the U.S. position."
Finally, for any reporters who are still confused how Russia could possibly slam the door of diplomacy in the US' face after an American F-18 shot down a Syrian fighter jet flying over Syria, and proceeded with two separate sanctions, the State Department has some advice: "we would refer you to the Russian government to explain their decision to cancel this meeting. "
Full statement below:
Statement from the State Department on U.S.-Russia relations
We regret that Russia has decided to turn away from an opportunity to discuss bilateral obstacles that hinder U.S.-Russia relations.
During the Secretary's April visit to Moscow, he and Foreign Minister Lavrov agreed to establish a senior-level working group to discuss bilateral issues of concern. Undersecretary Shannon had planned to travel to St. Petersburg this week to continue discussions which began in May when he met Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov in New York.
The maintenance package of sanctions issued yesterday by the Treasury Department, which only reinforced existing sanctions, was designed to counter attempts to circumvent our sanctions and to maintain alignment of U.S. measures with those of our international partners. We have regularly updated these sanctions twice a year since they were first imposed.
Let's remember that these sanctions didn't just come out of nowhere. Our targeted sanctions were imposed in response to Russia's ongoing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbor, Ukraine. If the Russians seek an end to these sanctions, they know very well the U.S. position: Our sanctions on Russia related Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine will remain in place until Russia fully honors its obligations under the Minsk Agreements. Our sanctions related to Crimea will not be lifted until Russia ends its occupation of the peninsula.
We would refer you to the Russian government to explain their decision to cancel this meeting. From our perspective, and as Secretary Tillerson has made clear, there are many issues to be discussed. We remain open to future discussions.
A US senator has warned against the United States' measures in Syria, which is pushing Washington "closer and closer" to a military conflict with Iran and Russia, describing the move as “another mistake on the scope of the Iraq War."
US Moves Towards Military Conflict with Iran, Russia: Senator Says
_https://www.albawaba.com/news/us-moves-towards-military-conflict-iran-russia-senator-says-988970
Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy made the comments in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.
I think we're getting closer and closer to open conflict with Iran and Russia, and the American public needs to know that we're moving very fast toward what could be another war inside the Middle East," Murphy said. "Something by the way that Donald Trump promised he wouldn't do when he ran for office."
The remarks came two days after a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Sukhoi SU-22 aircraft, which was conducting an operation against Daesh extremists on the outskirts of Syria’s northern city of Raqqah.
The Sunday downing of the Syrian warplane prompted Russia to issue a threat against American airborne assets over Syrian airspace and track all coalition flights west of the Euphrates River.
The Democratic Senator also said that the US president had no authority to act on his own to engage in a war in Syria and that he must gain permission from Congress. "There's no authorization for military force that Congress has passed that gives the president the ability to take military action against the Syrian regime," Murphy said.
"And we have to understand what we're getting involved in, right. You are not just fighting Bashar al-Assad," he noted. "If you're going to ramp up military activity against Assad, you are also going in against Iran and Russia."
Raising concerns over what he called "a dangerous escalation," the Connecticut senator said it was not in the US interest to get involved in the Syrian war. "That would be another mistake on the scope of the Iraq War.”
Meanwhile, US General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a day earlier that Washington was working to restore a “deconfliction” line with Moscow intended to avoid mid-air collisions over Syria.
