Senate bill seeks to preserve Russian help on Iran, Syria
The US is moving ahead with new sanctions on Russia, despite needing the Kremlin’s cooperation on a host of Middle East issues.
The Senate Foreign Relations panel voted 14-3 on Wednesday on a $1 billion line of credit for Ukraine’s broke interim government.
The legislation also calls for targeted sanctions against Russians involved in violence and human rights abuses in Ukraine, as well as those complicit in corruption in the country.
Senators of both parties told Al-Monitor that the sanctions are tailored to deal with Russia’s intervention in Crimea and should not preclude cooperation on Iran, Syria or other issues.
“That’s why we narrowed it to Ukraine involvement only,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the top Republican on the panel and a co-author of the bill. “It ties the two together in an appropriate way.”
