MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The expansion of anti-Russian sanctions by the United States undermines the possibility of restoring relations between Moscow and Washington and complicates them, Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee chairman Leonid Slutsky said Wednesday.
"Undoubtedly, the expanded restriction undermines the possibility of restoring Russian-American relations and complicate them even more for the foreseeable future. And the opportunities for diplomatic maneuvers to cut the Gordian knot in the Russian-US dialogue are reduced to an extremely small degree," Slutsky told reporters.
Earlier in the day, the US House of Representatives approved a new version of a bill that would impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea and limit US President Donald Trump’s ability to lift the restrictions on Moscow.