The US Congress finally approved a $ 716 billion defense appropriation bill that provides $ 250 million to Ukraine in the form of lethal military assistance and includes measures that encourage other countries to switch from acquiring Russian weapons to the US.

The Senate approved the John McCain National Defense Appropriations Act with 87 votes in favor, 10 against, notes the Voice of America.

The law, which has been adopted annually for more than 50 years, not only authorizes military expenditures, but is also used as a tool to address a wide range of political issues.

Since the House of Representatives approved it last week with 359 votes in favor at 54 "against", the bill will be sent to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.

According to the bill, the countries that bought Russian weapons, but now want to switch to the US, can count on the fact that they will not be sanctioned by the US.

This provision was included in the bill at the request of Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

This is a question of sanctions, the introduction of which requires the Law on Countering America's Enemies through Sanctions, adopted by the overwhelming majority of members of Congress last year.

The bill, adopted to punish Moscow for destabilizing actions, including interference in elections, contains a section requiring sanctions against those who deal with the Russian defense industry.

However, Mattis previously sent a letter to the Congress in which he stated that although "Russia must feel the consequences of its aggressive, destabilizing behavior," it is "extremely important" to give Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the power to make exceptions to the regime of these sanctions.

Mattis noted that such powers will allow the countries "to establish closer relations with the US in the field of security while they continue to reduce dependence on Russian military equipment". Otherwise, there is a risk that these countries "will have no choice but to turn to Russia, because of which the chance will be missed to bring the country closer to the American vision of global security and stability that occurs once in a generation," points out the head of the Pentagon.

As an example of such countries, Mattis specifically noted India, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Under new powers, the purchase of new equipment, for example, Russian S-400 air defense missile systems, may lead to sanctions, while for armaments maintenance services inherited from previous years, for example, for the purchase of spare parts for Russian-made helicopters, may an exception should be made.

The final version of the bill specifies the criteria for such exceptions. Applicants for an exemption from the sanctions regime must prove that they are not the Russian intelligence service, do nothing that could undermine multilateral organizations such as NATO, do nothing to undermine US operations, as well as US technologies designed for defense cooperation , officials said.

When this is proved, the country should also show that it meets one of two criteria: that it has significantly reduced its dependence on Russia or significantly increased its cooperation with the United States.

As in previous years, the bill "prohibits military cooperation with Russia," says a brief statement of the bill, published by Republican Congressman Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

The document, which is a compromise between the draft versions approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate, also provides funding for the Trump administration's plans to develop a warhead for small-capacity ballistic missiles aimed at containing Russia.

He also supports President Donald Trump's request to allocate $ 250 million to provide Ukraine with lethal military assistance and to allocate $ 6.3 billion to the European deterrence initiative with a view to "further increasing the number of American troops in Europe ... and restraining Russian aggression".

The bill prohibits the supply of advanced F-35 fighters to the NATO member of Turkey. American officials warned Ankara that the Russian missile defense system, which Turkey plans to purchase, can not be integrated into NATO's air defense and anti-missile defense system.

The bill on appropriations for national defense was named after John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a war hero, a former Republican presidential candidate who undergoes treatment for brain cancer.