New US Sanctions Threats 'Attempt to Tie Trump's Hands' in Relations With Russia

Republican senators are expected to introduce a bill to impose a new package of sanctions against Russia. According to political analyst Viktoria Zhuravlyova, Barack Obama's administration is likely to approve new restrictions against Moscow, in a bid to undermine Donald Trump's normalization efforts.

A group of United States Republican senators will introduce on Tuesday a bill to impose "comprehensive" sanctions against Russia over its alleged attempts to influence the US presidential election, Reuters reported.

In a recent interview with NBC, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said that the Republicans expect from President-elect Donald Trump measures against Russia over its alleged interference with the US electoral system.

According to the senators, if Trumps does not take such measures he would risk facing opposition from Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

Trump "should let everybody know in America" that he is going to "make Russia pay a price for trying to interfere," Graham said.

The senator added that if Trump does not change his stance on Russia there would be a situation in which the opinion of the US president contradicts the official position of Congress.

Graham also said that he and McCain were going to propose new stricter sanctions against Moscow in financial and energy sectors.

Earlier this week, US intelligence published a report on Russia’s alleged meddling in the US electoral system. The document blames Moscow for using a wide variety of tools, including cyber-attacks and media campaigns, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the US election. However, the report does not provide solid evidence and lacks credibility.

After a briefing with intelligence personnel on the issue, Trump said there was no evidence to the anti-Russian allegations.

New sanctions against Russia in the energy sector may be signed in the coming days, said Viktoria Zhuravlyova, senior research fellow at the Institute of Global Economy and International Relations, at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Such a document is very likely to be signed in Washington. Time is running out for Barack Obama’s administration. But if they intensify their actions it is possible that the document will be signed," Zhuravlyova told Radio Sputnik.

According to the expert, current actions by Obama and his administration are aimed at creating difficulties for the next president.

"Obama’s stance is clear. He started the process [of sanctions]. These measures are aimed to undermine Trump’s presidency. Obama’s administration is creating conditions in which it would be very difficult to change anything," she suggested.

Zhuravlyova added that not only the Democrats but also the majority of Republicans adhere to such a strategy towards Russia.

"They are afraid of Trump. They fear that after he becomes president he will do what he promised during his campaign. His foreign policy agenda contradicts the strategy of the US establishment and the consensus between the parties. Thus, they want to create conditions in which Trump would be impotent. All recent events are an attempt to tie Trump’s hands," the expert concluded.