US Capitol Building in Washington DCWASHINGTON Feb 10The US Congress is faced with the problem of lack of time to consider a bill on sanctions against the Russian Federation in the event of an escalation of tension around Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives went on vacation without voting on the sanctions bill. It will resume work on February 28. The bill, introduced earlier by a group of Democrats led by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Robert Menendez, involves the imposition of sanctions against the leadership of the Russian Federation in the event of an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. Restrictions may also affect the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. An identical bill was also previously submitted to the House of Representatives of Congress. Meanwhile, as the agency notes, Republicans and Democrats cannot agree among themselves on how effective these measures will be. Thus, the leader of the Republican minority in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, expressed the opinion that the sanctions project will not deter Russia from implementing the aggressive plans attributed to it against Ukraine. «I do not think that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin will be stopped by any bill in the Senate,» — said McConnell, whose words are quoted by the agency. He added that President Joe Biden already has sufficient authority to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation. Republicans do not agree with the key provision of the bill that tough sanctions against the Russian Federation can only be imposed in the event of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Democrats, for their part, refuse to act preemptively. The US administration, led by Joe Biden, also believes that the premature imposition of sanctions will lead to the loss of their «deterrent» effect. Kiev and Western states have recently been constantly declaring an alleged increase in «aggressive actions» by Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is moving troops within its territory and at its own discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone. Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations by the West and Ukraine of «aggressive actions», stating that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as an excuse to place more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that Western statements about «Russian aggression» and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself against it are both ridiculous and dangerous. >Russian Ambassador says it is not yet known when the US will impose sanctions
