Moscow, 20 November: The head of the international (affairs) committee of the Russian State Duma, Konstantin Kosachev, has described the US Senate's decision to lift the Jackson-Vanik amendment with regard to Ukraine as bewildering.

Commenting on this decision by the US Senate in an interview with Interfax, Kosachev noted that it is not final as the matter still has to be considered by the House of Representatives, and then by the US president.

Kosachev said that to him this decision by US senators was "not a matter of surprise, but of bewilderment, as it is perfectly clear that the amendment is a political instrument for putting pressure on states in post-Soviet space and the decision to lift it is adopted on the basis of the American's political assessment of the foreign policy of individual states".

According to the MP, this is directly demonstrated by the statement contained in the American Senate resolution on this matter to the effect that the amendment is being lifted in view of the democratic process in Ukraine and its support for US policy.

"One gets the impression that this is some sort of reward to Ukraine for surrendering its sovereignty and a pat on the back in return for its authorities' willingness unconditionally to follow in the wake of American foreign policy," Kosachev noted.

He said that the Senate decision was also bewildering because "by all accounts, the Americans intend to apply a similar approach to Russia, expecting us to renounce a portion of our national interests".

By way of example, Kosachev noted the intention of certain congressmen to link Russian cooperation with Iran and Syria to the possibility of repealing the Jackson-Vanik amendment. At the same time, he described this approach as "politically a complete dead-end".

"For us, the lifting of the amendment is not an aim in itself, for the sake of which we are ready to barter away our interests in foreign policy. Russian MPs take the view that the amendment will be repealed in association with the completion of Russian-American talks on our country's accession to the World Trade Organization," Kosachev said.

He noted that an accord on this was reached in the course of a recent joint session of the international committees of the Russian and US parliaments in Washington.

Kosachev recalled that the Jackson-Vanik amendment was imposed against the Soviet Union in 1974 in connection with the obstacles that were then being placed in the path of Jews leaving permanently for abroad.

The amendment prevents a regime of normal trade relations from developing, although in the recent past, Kosachev noted, the US president has been annually issuing decisions to suspend the impact of the amendment on Russia.