Kremlin holds off on responding to new US sanctions
MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Wednesday refrained from discussing its possible response to a new package of U.S. sanctions against Russia before President Donald Trump signs them into law.
Eager to punish Russia for meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Congress on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a new package of sanctions against Moscow that prohibits Trump from waiving the penalties without first getting permission from Congress.
Senior Russian officials and lawmakers said Russia was considering measures in response to the new round of sanctions, but Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said it was too early to speak about it.
Peskov told reporters in Moscow that the new sanctions, which he described as “lamentable,” have not been signed by Trump into law yet and that the Kremlin “needs to analyze it very carefully” before Putin makes a decision on how to respond.