NEW YORK, July 11. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said the decision whether to impose sanctions on Russia will rest with him under the bill that Congress aims to pass.

"They’re going to pass a very major and very biting sanctions bill, but it’s up to the president as to whether or not he wants to exercise it," the US president said in an interview with NBC News. "It’s a bill that the Senate is passing that very respectfully lets the president do whatever he wants, as you know."

Trump said on July 8 that he could greenlight the bill’s consideration by Congress.

The bill was introduced in early April by a bipartisan group of senators led by Lindsey Graham, a Republican representing South Carolina (included on Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists) and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat representing Connecticut. The proposal provides for such measures as secondary sanctions against Russia’s trading partners, for example, tariffs of 500% on imports to the US from countries that purchase oil, gas, uranium and other goods from Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on July 2 said the US should realize that sanctions against Russian are not working and backfire against the countries that push for imposing them.