US sanctions are 'trade war' on Russia: Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the new sanctions imposed by the US are tantamount to declaring a "full-scale trade war" against Moscow and the administration demonstrated complete impotence in the most humiliating manner, the media reported.

Writing on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Medvedev said the sanctions package "ends hopes for improving our relations with the new US administration", reports the BBC.

"The sanctions regime has been codified and will remain in effect for decades unless a miracle happens."

The White House announced the signing of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, saying the legislation includes "a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions" that "purport to displace the President's exclusive constitutional authority to recognize foreign governments, including their territorial bounds", CNN reported.

Medvedev added that he thought Trump was an "incompetent player (who) must be eliminated".

The law aims to punish Russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 US elections, its actions in Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Moscow - which denies interfering in the US presidential election - had already retaliated last week when Congress passed the bill, by expelling 755 people from the US embassy and consulates in Russia, the BBC reported.

The legislation also imposes sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

Iran said the new sanctions violated the nuclear deal and it would respond in an "appropriate and proportional" manner, according to Isna news agency.

North Korea has so far made no public comments on the US move.

Several European nations, including Germany, are fearful of the economic consequences and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned of "unintended unilateral effects that impact the European Union's energy security interests".

--IANS

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