Republican lawmakers are calling on President Donald Trump to stand tougher against Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war, including with a sanctions bill that Senate Majority Leader John Thune says is "ready to go" if the White House agrees.
"If the White House concludes that tougher sanctions are in order, we're here for it," the South Dakota Republican said Monday, reports The Hill. "We've got a bill ready to go that has an overwhelming bipartisan majority of senators on it. And if sanctions is a necessary part of getting the Russians to the table to negotiate in good faith, then so be it."
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced bipartisan legislation in April to sanction Russia and those who support its aggression against Ukraine.
Their measure has more than 70 co-sponsors and calls for tariffs on countries buying oil, gas, uranium, and other products from Russia.
Graham has also been meeting with European leaders to negotiate a sanctions agreement against Russia.
Several GOP lawmakers are also arguing that Putin is not serious about achieving peace with Ukraine, particularly after he and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stayed out of talks with U.S. negotiators in Turkey last week.
Trump spoke with Putin by phone for more than two hours Monday, as well as with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but no breakthroughs were reached.
Later in the day, Zelenskyy accused Putin of trying to "buy time to continue the war and occupation."
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., commented that Putin is a "liar" and said Russia was "always going to ask for too much, and they're going to use that as a pretext to continue to kill, rape and kidnap Ukrainians."
He called on the administration to "lean into Putin" and let him know that "we'll be there for the duration if he doesn't come to terms" on a deal for peace.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., meanwhile, said Russia should "be treated as the aggressors that they are as the war criminals that they are," and "particularly Mr. Putin."
"Our negotiators should realize that there's not a word of truth that comes out of Vladimir Putin's mouth," he added. "He will never keep any promise that he ever makes. He is totally interested in domination of his neighbors. That needs to be recognized."
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, applauded Trump for his efforts to end the war, but said he thinks Putin is "stringing" the president and the United States along.
"You can't have a peace deal without good-faith negotiators on both sides, and I'm concerned that Putin is not negotiating in good faith," Cornyn said, adding that he is not optimistic about the outcome of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, as Trump is seeking.
Trump said that after his call Monday, Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire," and said later he thinks Putin is interested in reaching an agreement.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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