U.S. House approves defense bill restricting cooperation with Russia

The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Dec. 2 a defense budget bill that restricts military cooperation with the Russian Federation, as had been promised by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The legislation, approved with 375 out of 435 votes, prohibits allocating funds for bilateral military cooperation with the Russian government until it (1) abides by the Minsk protocols to ensure a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, (2) frees the occupied territory of Ukraine, and (3) halts aggressive actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and NATO member-states.

The legislation also forbids the U.S. Defense Department from using funds to implement any activity that recognizes Russian sovereignty in Crimea. The day before, the U.S. House also approved legislation to create a special committee to combat the secret influence of Russia on other countries and peoples.

The same legislation, sponsored by U.S. Senator John McCain, earmarks USD 350 million in defense spending for Ukraine in the 2017 budget, an increase from USD 300 million in 2016. Besides lethal defensive weapons, the legislation calls for support for developing a system of monitoring the state border of Ukraine and enhancing training for officers and commanders in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the pravda.com.ua news site reported.

Zenon Zawada: As we expected as early as September, a rush of legislative measures will be submitted in the U.S. Congress ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump that will restrict his ability to find compromise with Russian President Putin. Such legislation will have wide support from both the Democratic and Republican parties, both in the U.S. House and in the U.S. Senate.

This particular item is a direct reaction to Trump’s promises of enhancing military cooperation with Russia in order to overthrow the Islamic State. In the first year of his presidency, it’s possible Trump could veto such legislation, and it’s possible that the U.S. Congress will override such a veto. Yet in the mid-term (two-to-three years), more Republicans could abandon neo-conservative foreign policy in favor of Trump’s détente on Russia. We expect the Democratic Party will continue to firmly oppose any cooperation with Putin, particularly with its platform sympathetic towards the Islamic world.

It’s also worth considering that closer cooperation with Russia can be undertaken by sidestepping the legal wording of such legislation. For example, cooperation can occur in a multilateral, instead of a bilateral context. As another example, the U.S. doesn’t have to officially recognize the annexation of Crimea in order to remove sanctions, or recognize Russia’s presence there on a de facto basis.