Russia cautions US on new sanctions

Russia is cautioning the United States after the House voted to approve new sanctions against Moscow, according to multiple reports.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Russia said it is close to retaliating after the legislation passed the House, while CNN quoted Russia’s deputy foreign minister as saying that the Kremlin will work to find “compromise” on the various issues.

“We will work to find ways to move forward, persistently, consistently looking for ways of searching for compromise on issues, which are significant for Russia and, I think, for the U.S.,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, according to CNN.

The bipartisan bill, which places new sanctions on Russia and restricts President Trump’s ability to lift sanctions, passed the House overwhelmingly, 419-3, on Tuesday.

{mosads}A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, however, said the Kremlin will hold off on making “substantive assessments” until the bill is signed into law.

“So far we are speaking about a bill and we are not going to make any substantive assessments,” said Dmitry Peskov, as reported by the Russian news agency Tass. “The attitude to this will be formulated after a thorough analysis and the decision will certainly be made by the head of state, President Vladimir Putin.”

Peskov also reportedly said “the news is rather sad” for U.S.-Russia relations.

“It is no less dismaying in terms of international law and international trading relations,” he said.

New White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said following the vote on Tuesday that the White House is reviewing the House bill.

“While the [resident supports tough sanctions on North Korea, Iran and Russia, the White House is reviewing the House legislation and awaits a final legislative package for the president’s desk,” Sanders said.

The legislation’s passage in the lower chamber comes amid multiple investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and any ties between members of Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

–This report was updated at 1:17 p.m.