Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he wants to impose new sanctions on Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Graham said he wants to provide leeway for the Trump administration as it negotiates this week on a way to end the war. He said that the sanctions, as well as tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy, will help the State Department achieve that goal.
"But most members of the Senate," Graham said, "believe that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been resistant to finding a negotiated solution to the war, and has been brazen and barbaric in his actions against Ukraine. By co-sponsoring this bill I think a senator is making a pretty clear statement that they see Russia as the greatest offender here."
The proposal, according to Graham, already has 60 sponsors in the Senate.
On Monday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Brazil's O Globo newspaper that Ukraine, not Russia, was dragging its leg in negotiations.
"We remain open to negotiations," Lavrov said. "But the ball is not on our side. So far, Kiev has not demonstrated its negotiating capacity, as can be explained by the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were not able to observe either the 30-day moratorium on attacks on energy facilities (March 18 to April 17) nor the 30-hour Easter truce (from 6:00 p.m. on April 19 to 12:00 a.m. on April 21). The Volodymyr Zelenskyy regime has shown a lack of political will for peace and reluctance to abandon the continuation of the war, which is supported by Russophobic circles in several EU countries, mainly France and Germany, as well as in Britain."
Earlier this week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., pushed her Democrat colleagues to place new sanctions on Russia, claiming it is Putin who "drags his feet" on ending the war.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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