Russian adopts bill threatening cooperation with US

Russia’s parliament has adopted a wide-ranging bill that could freeze crucial exports to the United States and imports to Russia from the US and other countries. The bill, drafted by leading lawmakers at the State Duma in response to the latest round of U.S. sanctions, lays out a wide range of restrictions for US businesses in Russia and for cooperation with the U.S. Among other things, the bill allows the Russian president to “ban or suspend cooperation with a hostile state” and ban imports of goods from unnamed countries.

The original bill proposed specific restrictions to US imports including drugs as well as banning crucial exports, such as titanium, to the US But lawmakers toned it down to get rid of references to specific restrictions before adopting the bill.