Obama Readies to Sign Russia Sanctions Legislation
President Barack Obama will sign the Russia sanctions bill that cleared Congress in recent days, HR-5859 (here), said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in a Dec. 16 briefing (here). The Senate passed the bill in one of its final…
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acts of this Congress (see 1412160028">1412160028). The legislation ensures Obama has latitude in the administration's efforts to strain the Russian economy in response to that country's destablization of Ukraine, said Earnest. "But we do have some concerns about that legislation because while it preserves flexibility, it does send a confusing message to our allies, because it includes some sanctions language that does not reflect the consultations that are ongoing," said Earnest. "Typically, the kinds of consultations that we’ve had that have allowed for the successful implementation of the strategy have allowed us to have private conversations with our European allies about our strategies and next steps forward." Earnest said he expects Obama to sign the legislation by the end of the week. Meanwhile, the Russian ruble took a serious hit on Dec. 16, and some analysts say the Russian economy is increasingly weak (here).