Why is Trump so fearful of Putin? Could it just be that Steele dossier that Putin is holding over the head of Trump?

The new US sanctions against Putin for his interference in the 2016 US presidential elections has, very reluctantly, been signed by Trump, without the normal fanfare that accompanies such signings in the White House.

Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, explained exactly what these sanctions do.

"As a practical matter ... they mostly codify the sanctions that are already there. There is a few places in the energy sector where it makes it harder for American companies to work with Russian companies in exploration ... But its mostly codifying .. making it difficult for the president to withdraw these sanctions in a negotiation .. and it's true that when sanctions are done by law they become sticky ... they last for a long time" (cf video above) (my emphasis)

What this is effect means is that the US sanctions that were instituted when Putin annexed Crimea and invaded the Ukrainian Donbas CANNOT be negotiated away by Trump without the approval of the US Congress.

Trump had absolutely no other alternative but to sign these sanctions into law, even though, emerging from the shadows, Rex Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon Mobil and now US Secretary of State, stated that,

"But the action by Congress to put these sanctions in place, and the way they did ...  neither the President nor I are very happy about that .. We were clear that it was not going to be helpful to our efforts, but that's the decision they made" (MSNBC : 2 August, 2017)

Not only is Trump and Tillerson unhappy about these new US sanctions, so is Putin, whose glove-puppet, Dmitry Medvedev stated that,

"New sanctions on Russia which U.S. President Donald Trump has signed into law are tantamount to a "full-scale trade war", Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday." (Alexander Winning and Jack Stubbs : Reuters : August 2, 2017) (my emphasis)

Putin is not alone in his anger against these US sanctions.

As Yasmeen Serhan  (right) reports,

"[EU] Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (left) warned of potential collateral damage to Europe’s energy market, as the sanctions could inadvertently hit European companies involved with Russia’s energy-export pipelines. One such pipeline, the Nord Stream 2, which aims to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, involves several European companies."(The Atlantic : Aug 2, 2017) (my emphasis)

As Jon Rogers also reports,

"The German government and business leaders have said the new sanctions passed this month by the US House of Representatives could prevent German companies from working on pipeline projects that they say are essential to Germany's energy security." (The Express : Mon, Jul 31, 2017) (my emphasis) 

 
The fact that Trump has been forced to sign these sanctions into law also signifies that the "honeymoon" between Trump and the US House of Congress is coming to a rapid end.

In the words of US Senator Lindsey Graham,

"The fact that he does this quietly I think reinforces the narrative that the Trump administration is not really serious about pushing back on Russia and I think that is a mistake too because Putin will see this as a sign of weakness ..." (cf video below) (my emphasis)

Which once again raises the question,

"Why is Trump so fearful of Putin?" 

Could it just be that Steele dossier that Putin is holding over the head of Trump?

(to be continued)