Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Saturday that he hopes the impending sanctions against Russia will not be necessary in the long run and that the two countries will cooperate on global issues in the near future.

“The near unanimous votes for the sanctions legislation in Congress represent the strong will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States,” Tillerson said. “We hope that there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues and these sanctions will no longer be necessary.”