“This bill serves as a standing authorization for an escalated economic war with Russia, and perhaps more,” Daniel McAdams said Thursday, adding that it is "designed to escalate tensions with Russia.”
US President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he signed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, which had been passed in both chambers of Congress last week.
Earlier in December, Resolution 758, condemning Russia for alleged aggression against its neighbors Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, passed the House by a vote of 411 to 10. The bill calls Obama to impose visa bans, asset freezes and sanctions against Russia and its leadership until Moscow stops violating "Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
McAdams stressed that the Ukraine Freedom Support Act is stronger than the Resolution 758, “authorizing even more sanctions on Russia, directly arming the US-backed government in Kiev, and encouraging another Kiev attack on eastern Ukraine.”
The expert added that although US President said he did not immediately intend to impose new sanctions, the bill reminds of the authorization passed by Congress just before the US attack on Iraq in 2002.
McAdams, who worked on the Capitol Hill for 12 years, claimed that members of Congress read only the mainstream press so their information about Russia comes “exclusively from sources like the Washington Post, probably the most anti-Russian newspaper on earth.”
“There is literally no counter-weight within Congress that argues against the anti-Russia propaganda. A handful of Members who question the wisdom of the increasingly confrontational US policy toward Russia are easily ignored,” he explained.
In his statement, Obama stated that the Administration does not intend to impose sanctions under the new law, and added that they can roll back those already imposed if Moscow implements the Minsk protocols.
The United States, the European Union and a number of other countries, have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia in the recent months, targeting its banking, energy and defense sectors, over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, although Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations.
