MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) – Relations between the United States and Russia will be undermined for a long time following US President Barack Obama’s signing of the Ukraine Freedom Act containing stipulations for the possibility of additional anti-Russian sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.
“[Russian Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov said that after the US president signed the Ukraine Freedom Act that threatens new sanctions against Russia, normal joint activities between [the two] countries would be undermined for a long time,” the ministry said in a statement published on its website.
Lavrov voiced his concerns in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the talk was initiated by the United States.
19 December 2014, 00:40 GMT
The Ukraine Freedom Support Act, authorizing a provision of lethal assistance to Ukraine and the introduction of new sanctions against Russia, was passed by the US Congress last week and signed by President Barack Obama on Thursday.
The United States does not intend to impose more sanctions against Russia under the new legislation at this time, Obama stated after the signing.
