Russia says US sanctions vote 'step towards destroying' better ties

Moscow: An overwhelming vote by the US House of Representatives to slap tough new sanctions on Moscow is a "serious step" towards wrecking chances of improving ties, Russia's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"The authors and sponsors of this bill are taking a very serious step towards destroying the possibilities for normalising relations with Russia," Sergei Ryabkov told state-run TASS news agency.