Germany, Austria hit out at new anti-Russia bill

Germany and Austria have roundly condemned the new anti-Russia sanctions approved by the U-S Senate, calling them unacceptable. In a joint statement, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said the sanctions aim to benefit the US oil and gas sectors. The two politicians stressed that European countries cannot tolerate being threatened over their business deals with Moscow and warned that the sanctions could have a highly negative effect on US-Europe relations. On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to slap new sanctions on Russia. If turned into law, they would fine enterprises that deal with Russian counterparts.