Yahoo News found out about the attempt to trump immediately after the election to cancel sanctions against Russia
It has greatly alarmed the state Department officials, they appealed to Congress.
Moscow. June 2. INTERFAX.RU — Representatives of the US administration in the first weeks of the presidency of Donald trump instructed the state Department to develop a plan for the lifting of economic sanctions against Russia, the return of the diplomats “cottages” and ease tensions in relations with Moscow, according to Yahoo News, citing sources.
According to them, “these efforts have alarmed some state Department officials, and they immediately began lobbying among the members of Congress the idea of the bill aimed at blocking the steps of the administration of Donald trump”.
“The White house seriously considered the question of lifting the sanctions unilaterally,” said Yahoo News the former employee of us state Department Dan fried, who served as chief coordinator for sanctions policy until the end of February of the current year.
According to him, “in the first few weeks of the presidency of the trump he’s got a few “panic” calls from representatives of the us government, which informed him of the instruction to develop the steps for the removal of sanctions and begged him to “stop it.”
Fried said that “he was so concerned that he contacted the allies on Capitol hill, including with Senator Ben Cardin to urge them to quickly pass a bill that would have “codified” the existing sanctions that would have created a trump for the difficulties in their removal”.
The former assistant Secretary of state for human rights Tom Malinowski told Yahoo News that he “began to lobby for the idea with bill when he learned from former colleagues that the administration of the new President is developing a plan for the lifting of sanctions and possibly meeting trump and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in the framework of efforts to achieve “a great deal” with Moscow.”
“It would be a one-sided victory for Moscow,” said Malinowski, who a few days before the resignation presented its own package of sanctions against senior Russian officials in connection with human rights violations under the Magnitsky act.
A senior White house official confirmed “that the administration has started to develop changes on the Russian sanctions within a broader policy review in this area, which currently is carried out”.
“In a matter of days after President trump took office, officials located on the same floor as Secretary of state, sent a “task” to the division of European and Eurasian Affairs to develop a list of options to improve relations with Russia as part of the deal in exchange for Russia’s cooperation in the war against “Islamic state” (banned in Russia) in Syria”, — told the portal to see two ex-state Department official.