WorldMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s lower house of parliament is to consider draft legislation that would give the Kremlin powers to ban or restrict a list of U.S. imports, reacting to new U.S. sanctions on a group of Russian tycoons and officials. Senior lawmakers in the State Duma, which is dominated by Kremlin loyalists, said they had prepared the list ranging from food and alcohol to medicine and consulting services in response to Washington’s move last week. A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was understandable that Russian lawmakers wanted to retaliate against the U.S. measures. He said, though, that the Kremlin had yet to familiarise itself with the draft law. The Russian parliament is often used to send assertive messages to foreign states, but these do not always translate into concrete measures.

Source: Sunday Times April 13, 2018 12:11 UTC