Senior Democratic and
Republican U.S. lawmakers want Washington to respond to Russia's alleged
interference in the U.S. election and actions in Ukraine and Syria, despite
Republican President-elect Donald Trump's calls to improve relations.
Senator Ben Cardin said on
Wednesday he was working on what he described as "comprehensive"
legislation to respond to Russian actions contrary to U.S. interests in Europe
and Syria, as well as cyber attacks blamed on Moscow during the campaign.
"Russia presents a very
serious challenge for America. They're not our partner. They're a bully,"
Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told
reporters.
"Whether you attack us by
MiG (fighter jet) or by mouse, it's an attack. It requires a response. It's
clear that they were responsible for the cyber attack on our country in this
past election," Cardin said.
Other lawmakers have also
called for action against Russia as they returned to Washington this week for
the first time since Trump won the Nov. 8 U.S. election.
On Tuesday, Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham, one of his party's senior foreign policy voices, told reporters
he wanted Senate hearings on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin
interfered in the election.
"We can't sit on the
sidelines," Graham said.
During the campaign, Trump's
Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, criticized him for
praising Putin as a strong leader and saying ties with Russia should be
improved at a time when Moscow and Washington are at odds over Syria and
Ukraine.
Trump also worried U.S. allies
with comments questioning NATO's mutual self-defense pledge and suggesting he
might recognize Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Cardin declined to provide
specifics about his legislation ahead of a planned speech on Thursday on Russia
policy. When asked if it would include additional sanctions, he said, "It
will be comprehensive."
He said he thought it would be difficult
to pass a bill before the current Congress wraps up next month, but that he
hoped to lay the groundwork for future action.
Cardin
also said he wanted Obama to act before he leaves office on Jan. 20. Congress
has already passed legislation giving the president the authority to take
actions including imposing additional sanctions or sending more arms to
Ukraine.
(Additional reporting by Richrd Cowan;
Editing by James Dalgleish)
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