WEB DESK
The Republican-led Senate in the United States has approved wide-ranging sanctions against Russia for interfering in last year’s Presidential elections.
Underscoring broad support among Republicans and Democrats, the Senators passed the bipartisan sanctions legislation 97-2, after US intelligence agencies determined that Moscow had deliberately interfered.
The sanctions target key sectors of Moscow’s economy and individuals who carried out cyber attacks on behalf of the Russian government. Lawmakers who backed the measure also cited Russia’s aggression in Syria and Ukraine.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered tepid support for the sanctions measure.
He told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he agreed with the sentiment among lawmakers that Russia must be held accountable for its meddling in the election.
However, he urged Congress to make the sanctions legislation doesn’t tie the President’s hands and shut down promising avenues of communication between the two countries.
The new sanctions will target:
Individuals involved in corruption and human rights abuses
Anyone supplying weapons to the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad
Individuals “conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government”
Anyone doing business with Russian intelligence and defence sectors
Russia’s mining, metal, shipping and railway sectors