WASHINGTON, July 29. /TASS/. The statement made by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the sanctions bill adopted by the Congress cannot but raise eyebrows, the Press Office of the Russian Embassy in USA reported on Saturday.
"The Statement made by the US State Department on July 29 regarding a new sanctions legislation approved by Congress cannot but raise eyebrows. Washington still doesn't get the fact, that pressure never works against our country and bilateral relations can hardly be improved by sanctions," the Press Office of the Russian Embassy in USA stressed.
As Tillerson said in the statement, the US administration hoped that further cooperation between Moscow and Washington would help to avoid the use of sanctions against Russia. "We hope that there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues and these sanctions will no longer be necessary," the secretary of state said.
He also confirmed that the new US sanction legislation reflected the desire of the American people to see from the Russian side steps to improve bilateral relations. "The near unanimous votes for the sanctions legislation in Congress represent the strong will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States," Tillerson said.
"We will work closely with our friends and allies to ensure our messages to Russia, Iran, and North Korea are clearly understood," he added.
Earlier this week, the US Congress adopted a bill that tightened unilateral US sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. Ninety-eight Senate lawmakers voted in favor of the bill and only two voted against it. The House of Representatives also adopted by bill by the majority of votes (419 against 3). The White House reported on Friday that US President Donald Trump planned to sign this document.