White House adviser refuses to speak on Trump’s position on Russia sanctions bill

Peter Navarro, senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on trade and manufacturing, declined to speculate on whether Trump would sign legislation imposing tougher sanctions on Russia if Congress approves the measure.

Responding to a reporter who asked whether the president would sign the bill, Navarro rejected the hypothetical question and urged journalists to focus on what he described as fact-based reporting, Caliber.Az reports. 

“Again, you don’t do that; don’t ask me those kinds of hypothetical ‘if’, ‘what’s the president’s going to do’. I don’t do that. Okay? What I do is bring you really good fact-based stuff to write really good stories. So go write some good stories,” he told reporters.

The comments came after a group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation in the House of Representatives seeking to significantly tighten sanctions against Russia and Iran.

According to The Hill, the House is expected to consider the legislation in a vote this fall. The proposed measures would target senior Russian political and military officials, as well as state-owned companies.

The bill would also authorise secondary sanctions against countries and entities doing business with Russia, including potential tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

The legislation also contains provisions aimed at strengthening U.S. sanctions against Iran.

By Sabina Mammadli