Will protect our interests, warns EU

The European Union hit out at the United States on Wednesday after an overwhelming vote by the House of Representatives to impose new sanctions on Russia left President Donald Trump facing a tough call.

The package, which targets Russia, Iran and North Korea, “tightens the screws on our most dangerous adversaries in order to keep Americans safe,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said after it passed on Tuesday by 419 votes to three.

It now heads to the Senate before Mr. Trump faces the tricky choice of whether to veto the Bill, opposed by the White House and considerably constrains his ability to lift the penalties.

EU ready to act

While Moscow and Tehran raised the prospect of retaliation over any fresh punitive measures, the EU also warned it was “ready to act to protect European interests” if the legislation hit dealings with the Russian energy sector.

The U.S. Bill was the result of a congressional compromise aimed at punishing the Kremlin for allegedly interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and intervening in Ukraine.

Key among the provisions is one that handcuffs Mr. Trump by complicating any unilateral efforts to ease sanctions against Moscow in future.

“Left unchecked, Russia is sure to continue its aggression,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said, applauding the Bill’s backing.

Despite initially opposing the Bill, Mr. Trump appears to have few options in the face of near-total consensus in Congress, with a decision likely due by mid-August.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House was still “reviewing the House legislation and awaits a final legislative package for the President’s desk.”

But even if Mr. Trump were to veto the legislation, Congress would likely be able to overcome such a blockage with a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

‘Won’t go unanswered’

Moscow responded angrily, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov insisting Washington had been warned “dozens of times” that any new sanctions would “not go unanswered.”

“The authors and sponsors of this Bill are taking a very serious step towards destroying the possibilities for normalising relations with Russia,” he told state-run TASS news agency.

European commissioners, the EU executive’s top officials, “expressed their concerns notably because of the draft Bill’s possible impact on EU energy independence,” the bloc said in a statement following talks in Brussels on Wednesday.