The Kremlin has accused Washington of targeting its economy and undermining its banks with a new bill. Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putin’s spokesman, said: “There is an absolutely concrete, pragmatic and aggressive trading approach, having nothing to do with international trade rules. This policy sometimes borders on racketeering. I mean various provisions of the draft law aimed at disrupting various energy projects of Russian companies, undermining the activities of Russian banks with state participation.”
And in a chilling warning, the spokesman carried on telling the US his country has already taken steps to protect the Russian economy against such “racketing attacks”.
The bill was introduced on Wednesday by Republican and Democratic senators, and it targets Russia’s cybersecurity sector, the country’s new sovereign debt and individuals deemed to “facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of Putin”, according to Reuters.
The sanctions in the bill would also target Russian energy projects outside of the country and the oil and gas industry, a market which brings in 40 percent of the Government’s revenues.
The legislation was branded “sanctions bill from hell” by Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who with his democratic counterpart Bob Menendez sponsored the legislation.
Mr Menendez criticised the White House for not taking a harsh stance against Moscow and the accusations of election meddling.
He said: “President Trump’s willful paralysis in the face of Kremlin aggression has reached a boiling point in Congress.”
Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen added: “Too often, the Trump administration resorts to foot dragging when it comes to holding foreign powers accountable, particularly Russia.”
Mrs Shaheen also said the Trump administration has been reluctant to take a firm action against Russia following the Salisbury attack, where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with nerve agent Novichok.
She said: “The Kremlin used a nerve agent on NATO soil–it’s hard to overstate how brazen this behavior is.
“There’s overwhelming bipartisan agreement that the Kremlin should pay a heavy price and the law is crystal clear in this respect.”
READ MORE: Salisbury poison suspect IDENTIFIED: Third Russian named in Skripal novichok attack
The attack sparked worldwide outrage, with dozens of countries including the US expelling Russian ambassadors from their soils after Theresa May declared “highly likely” that Russia was responsible for the action.
On Thursday investigative website Bellingcat identified a third Russian, Denis Sergeev, as possible attacker.
Mr Sergeev, who is a member of the Russian intelligence, was reportedly in the UK during the nerve agent attack.