Russia has seized on Trump’s criticism. And it’s not just Russian state television, which is gleefully reporting that Trump “has noted that the law is unconstitutional” and that Europe is against these sanctions. (Peeling Europe away from the United States has long been a goal of Putin’s.)
Russian officials are also citing Trump’s disapproval. Valery Vasiliev, the deputy head of the economic policy committee in the upper house of Russian parliament, noted that “Trump isn’t pleased” with the sanctions. “Even the president of the U.S. said that the law is not a good one,” said Igor Sechin, a close Putin ally and Russia’s oil czar. “He objected but he signed it. What else is there to say? Of course it’s not a good law, they all get it.”
“Trump called the sanctions law ‘seriously flawed,’” tweeted Alexey Pushkov, a hawkish Russian senator. “It’s true, but America’s whole Russia policy is flawed, especially the Congressional line. Only flaws.”
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