Welp. This doesn’t sound good, from what appears to be an official Russian state Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/Russia/status/892832078781444097
President Trump today grudgingly signed into law sanctions against Russia. Moscow replied by declaring a trade war on the U.S.
Trump criticized the bill he pretty much had no choice but to sign as an unfair limit on his executive power to shape foreign policy, and complained that he could make “far better deals” with foreign governments than Congress can.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the sanctions tantamount to a “full-scale trade war,” adding in a Facebook post that they showed the Trump administration had demonstrated “utter powerlessness.”
“The hope that our relations with the new American administration would improve is finished,” he wrote.
Trump’s litany of concerns about the sanctions, which also affect Iran and North Korea, nonetheless raised the question of how vigorously Trump will enforce them and pursue action against Russia.
“While I favor tough measures to punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior by Iran, North Korea, and Russia, this legislation is significantly flawed,” Trump said in a message to lawmakers.
The new law will also empower Congress to stop any effort by Trump to relax the Russia sanctions.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement.
“It’s high time to realize that threats and attempts to exert pressure on Russia will not make it change its course or sacrifice its national interests,” the statement read.