Controversy as Trump signs bill on sanctions against Russia

The United States President Donald Trump Wednesday reluctantly signed into law a bill on new sanctions against Russia following the controversy gererated by his election which was credited to leaks from Russia.

The bill seek to penalize the Kremlin for meddling in the 2016 US presidential election which Trump won and Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Trump who was unwilling to apend his signature but out of public out cry, bowed to pressure and has intesifed efforts to improve ties with the Kremlin.

According AFP, Trump signed the legislation behind closed doors and away from the cameras, after failed efforts to scupper or water down the bill failed, a source from the white house disclosed.

Trump received the legislation at 1:53 pm on Friday and waited until Wednesday to sign it.

The nearly week-long delay in signing had raised speculation that Trump might veto or try to somehow to shelve the sanctions, which were approved in a 98-2 Senate vote and has by signing it, avoided the humiliating prospect of Congress overriding his veto.

It is on public glare that Trump’s reluctance was on full display in an angry signing statement, in which he described the legislation as “significantly flawed.”

“In its haste to pass this legislation, the Congress included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions,” he said, including curbs on the president’s ability to conduct foreign policy.

The newly signed bill includes measures against North Korea and Iran, it also targets the Russian energy sector and gives Washington the power to sanction companies involved in developing Russian pipelines, and further placed curbs on some Russian weapons exporters.

It is worthy of note that the bill as signed constrains Trump’s ability to waive the penalties, or issue a statement of mistrust from the Republican controlled Congress which remains unsettled by Trump’s warm words for President Vladimir Putin.

Trump said he would “honor” some of the bill’s provisions, but could not guarantee that it would be fully implemented.

The White House said only that Trump would give Congress’s “preferences” mere “careful and respectful consideration.”

At the wake of Trumps endorsement of the bill, Moscow preemptively ordered Washington to reduce its diplomatic presence in Russia to 455 persons before September 1, thus bringing it in line with the size of Russia’s mission in the US.

Ahead of the bill signing, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had earlier stated that he would meet with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the weekend, but warned US-Russia ties could still get worse.

“The question, I think, of the events of the last week or so, is it getting worse or can we maintain some level of stability in that relationship?” Tillerson asked.

Tillerson said the US Congress’s decision to pass the sanctions bill had made attempts to thaw ties “more difficult.”

A special prosecutor is investigating whether Trump advisers colluded with what US intelligence has concluded was an attempt by Russia to covertly support his 2016 campaign.

The US president, who often called for warmer ties with Moscow during the White House race, has furiously denied the charge, which has further clouded relations.