Sanctions an ‘ economic war’ to Russia: Medvedev

Trump blames Congress for tensions

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev labelled new US sanctions “economic war,” as businesses in Moscow pledged Thursday to shrug off the impact of the measures approved reluctantly by US President Donald Trump .

Trump signed off on the new sanctions Wednesday, bowing to domestic pressure after the White House failed to scupper the bill or water it down.

The legislation was signed behind closed doors, and later, Trump bashed it in an angry statement as “signifi cantly fl awed.”

On Thursday, Trump said relations with Russia had hit an all- time and “very dangerous” low, putting the blame on Congress.

“Our relationship with Rus- sia is at an all- time & very dangerous low,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“You can thank Congress, the same people that can’t even give us HCare!” he added in reference to a recent defeat in the Senate on his health care reform plans.

Trump’s presidency has been overshadowed by allegations that his campaign team colluded with Moscow during last year’s US presidential campaign in which he defeated Hillary Clinton.

Expecting the move, Moscow already responded to the measures last week after they were passed by the Senate, ordering the US to slash staff at its diplomatic mission in Russia by 755 personnel.

The Kremlin said Trump’s formal approval did not “change anything” and no further retaliation was planned.

But Medvedev fumed Wednesday on Facebook that the move “ends hopes for improving our relations with the new US administration.”

“It is a declaration of a fullfl edged economic war on Russia,” Medvedev wrote.

“The Trump administration has shown its total weakness by handing over executive power to Congress in the most humiliating way.” “In its haste to pass this legislation, the Congress included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions,” he said, including curbs on the president’s ability to “negotiate” with Russia.