MOSCOW, July 26 (Xinhua) -- New U.S. sanctions will further complicate relations between Moscow and Washington, which are already at their lowest, Russian lawmakers said Wednesday.
"Undoubtedly, the expanded restrictions undermine the possibility of restoring Russian-American relations and complicate them even more for the foreseeable future," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a 419-3 vote a new version of a bill that would impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, targeting its defense, intelligence, mining, shipping, energy and railway industries, and restrict dealings with its banks.
The bill also grants the U.S. Congress the power to prevent President Donald Trump from lifting sanctions on Russia.
The prospects of Russia-U.S. cooperation in the struggle against terrorism are growing less likely with the latest passage of sanctions, said Frants Klintsevich, first deputy head of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on Defense and Security.
"Russian-U.S. cooperation in resolving major international problems, including countering international terrorism, will be extremely difficult, if at all possible," Sputnik quoted Klintsevich as saying.
Cooperation between Moscow and Washington will inevitably degrade and Russia should prepare a "painful" response to new sanctions, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote on his Facebook account.
He did not elaborate on the possible retaliation.
However, Russia does not intend to cut all relations with Washington despite the new sanctions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"We will continue the dialogue, but the questions are what issues can be addressed and whether the U.S. administration is ready to ... overpower the Russophobia that has gripped politicians in both chambers," Sputnik quoted Ryabkov as saying.
