Graham Says Trump Gave Green Light For Russia Sanctions Bill

Senator Lindsey Graham said President Donald Trump had “greenlit” a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill with the GOP lawmaker expressing hope for a vote on the measure as soon as next week.

“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill,” Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said in a statement Wednesday. “I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote, hopefully as early as next week.”

“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil, fueling Putin’s war machine,” he added, saying the legislation would provide “tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine.”

Graham’s office did not immediately respond when asked on Wednesday evening for more details on the legislation or its path in Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office did not respond immediately when asked on when the bill, which has been delayed repeatedly for months could come to the Senate floor for a vote.

The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Discussions with the White House have revolved around giving the president more flexibility on whether and how to impose sanctions. Russia sanctions enjoy wide bipartisan support and would likely easily pass the Senate if brought to a vote

An earlier version of the legislation included measures that would authorize Trump to impose secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries that do buy Russian oil and gas, an effort to ramp up economic pressure on the Kremlin.

Efforts to pass sanctions legislation in Congress have been long-stalled, with Trump previously suggesting he wanted to preserve diplomatic efforts to secure a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. The American president pledged to end Russia’s war on his first day in office, citing his rapport with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Frantic diplomacy in recent weeks saw Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hail progress, even as Putin has shown no indication he will back off maximalist demands for Ukrainian territory, including lands his forces do not control. In a late December call, Putin also told Trump Moscow would reevaluate its negotiating position, claiming that Ukrainian drones had targeted one of his residences in an attack.

“I’m not thrilled with Putin, he’s killing too many people,” Trump said earlier this year during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. 

Ukrainian officials have denied that attack, casting it as a Russian bid to derail peace talks. Trump recently signalled his displeasure with Putin, sharing on social media a New York Post editorial that criticized the Kremlin and urged the US president to escalate penalties on Moscow.

“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham said in his statement on Wednesday. 

The meeting follows a breakthrough by US, Ukrainian and allied negotiators on security guarantees for Kyiv, a key sticking point in efforts to bring a halt to the conflict. 

Zelenskiy indicated on Wednesday that his team would move on to discuss other issues, including territory and control of a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant, part of an effort to address remaining stumbling blocks before presenting a deal to Moscow.