The ruling by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations not to lift sanctions on Russian lawmakers was expected and demonstrated the unfriendly stand of US senators on the issue of Washington-Moscow relations, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian upper house's International Affairs Committee, told Sputnik on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2018) The ruling by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations not to lift sanctions on Russian lawmakers was expected and demonstrated the unfriendly stand of US senators on the issue of Washington-Moscow relations, Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian upper house's International Affairs Committee, told Sputnik on Thursday.
Earlier this week, US Sen. Rand Paul introduced an initiative to lift US sanctions on Russian lawmakers. The initiative failed, with only Paul himself voting for the amendment and 20 other senators rejecting the proposal.
"The decision was expected. The initiative of Sen. Rand Paul was suggested not in a bid to lift sanctions - he could not fail to understand that it was not going to happen - but to highlight the absurdity of sanctions against parliamentarians," Morozov said.
According to Morozov, lawmakers from the two countries have to talk despite any disagreements.
"But it is obvious that the majority of US senators think otherwise. It is more of a deliberate unfriendly campaign than common sense and foresight," the lawmaker added.
The United States has imposed several rounds of restrictions on Russian entities and individuals, including parliamentarians, over the past several years as a response to Moscow's alleged destabilization activities and suspected meddling in the US 2016 elections. Russia denied the allegations and counteracted with similar restrictions. Mutual sanctions have brought bilateral relations to a record low unseen in decades.
