NEW YORK, July 28. /TASS/. A bipartisan group of US senators announced on Tuesday that they had reached an agreement on a bill to toughen US sanctions against Russia, Bloomberg reported.
There is a strong likelihood that the bill will pass the Senate vote as early as this week, according to the report. That said, given that the US House of Representatives has gone on August recess, the measure cannot become law until at least September.
According to the US Senate’s schedule, a procedural vote on the bill is set to take place overnight from July 28 to 29, Moscow time.
The text of the new version of the bill proposes imposing sanctions on Russia’s top political and military leadership, state-owned companies, and foreign enterprises that support Russia’s defense industry, according to the US side. Moreover, it provides for restrictions against the Bank of Russia, Sberbank, and Gazprombank, as well as major Russian energy projects, such as Yamal LNG, three Arctic LNG projects, and future Russian energy projects in the Arctic. Instead of the previously proposed initiative to impose 500% duties on imports from countries purchasing energy resources from Russia, a proposal has been made to levy 100% tariffs on five largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as on five countries allegedly helping Russia circumvent Western energy sanctions. Senators also proposed imposing restrictions on the so-called shadow fleet.
On July 14, US President Donald Trump described the chances of the bill being passed as high. He added though that certain key provisions, specifically those concerning Washington’s intention to impose secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners, including India and China, had not been discussed with him. According to the American leader, the matter still requires review.