US President Donald Trump supports imposing tougher new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, the White House has stressed, a day after the House of Representatives voted in favour of a bill that seeks to limit his ability to lift many of the sanctions on Moscow.
The House voted 419-3 to pass the Bill that seeks to punish Russia for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. Other than Russia, the legislation also seeks to make Iran pay for its “continued support of terrorism”, and includes provisions to curb North Korea’s nuclear programme.
The Bill has in recent weeks attracted controversy. The Trump administration opposes the legislation as it requires congressional approval for the president to lift previous sanctions on Russia, according to US media reports. However, press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “The White House, the President, and the entire administration strongly support sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea.”
The Bill now heads to the Senate before it can be sent to the White House for Trump to sign it into a law. If enacted, it could put strain on Trump’s ability to improve ties with Russia, which he has vocally pursued, but has been restrained by the allegations that his associates had contacts with Russian officials during the election campaign.
Mr Trump has denied any collusion between his associates and Moscow and termed the Russian investigation “a witch hunt”.
