"These US sanctions are clearly directed against their own president, whose ‘feet and hands they want to bind.' But they are also directed against Europe, which they want to strangle economically and make it one of its colonies," Wimmer told Sputnik Germany.
According to the politician, it is now time for the EU to withdraw from the sanctions regime against Russia.
"If the EU is incapable of making a decision now, — whether because it is afraid of doing so or for some other reasons — it will lose all credibility in the eyes of the European public and European voters. After all, this is not only about the economic survival of the EU, but also about political honor. We mustn't allow Washington to determine our fate," the politician noted.
Answering the question of how Moscow could respond to the introduced sanctions, Wimmer said:
"We can only be thankful that since the Maidan putsch, Moscow has been pursuing a moderate, prudent policy. However, now for Russia, the situation is getting worse. This requires from President Putin the highest competency in governing the state in order to preserve peace in Europe. Because what Americans do is clearly aimed at war."
The US Senate passed in a 98-2 vote a new version of a sanctions bill on Russia, Iran and North Korea, limiting President Donald Trump's ability to lift the restrictions on Moscow.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the bill on Tuesday. The chamber voted to attach Iran and Russia to a bill that originally targeted North Korea, which is what the Senate had requested. The bill passed by the Senate retains the stipulation that any attempt by the White House to lift or relax sanctions must go through the US Congress.
The Russian Foreign Ministry suspended the use of all US Embassy warehouses and its compound in Moscow and also offered the US to cut down the number of its diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people by September 1. Moreover, the ministry said that it reserves the reciprocal right to hit US interests in response to the US sanctions bill.
