Trump ‘Greenlights’ New Russia Sanctions Bill – Senator Graham

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has approved a new Russia sanctions bill that has been under development for months, according to Senator Lindsey Graham. The US Senate could vote on the legislation as early as next week, he said.

Trump proposed a roadmap to resolve the Ukraine conflict in November, but the plan was rejected by Kiev and its European supporters, who argued it favored Russia and accused Moscow of delaying peace efforts.

Graham, a long-time critic of Russia, echoed that assessment, claiming Moscow has “rebuffed all our efforts” to end the conflict and would not agree to a peace deal “until we increase pressure.”

He was referring to legislation he authored that would authorize tariffs of up to 500% on imports from countries that continue purchasing Russian energy products.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned Western sanctions, arguing they violate international law and undermine global economic stability.

“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others,” Graham wrote on X on Wednesday.

The proposed bill would allow Trump “to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil,” Graham added.

Trump has previously floated the idea of sanctioning Russia’s trade partners amid frustration over stalled peace efforts, but so far has limited action to imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s trade with Moscow. India has denounced the move as unjustified.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned against expanding secondary sanctions or tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil, cautioning that such measures could drive global energy prices sharply higher.

The EU, despite expanding its Russia sanctions to 19 packages, has also refrained from penalizing third-country partners.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier described such tariff threats as “dirty methods” aimed at suppressing competitors.

“When someone is trying to suppress rivals by 100- or even 500-percent tariffs or imposes sanctions after openly declaring that the reason is political, this is even more than inequality. This is a disrespect for human rights,” Lavrov said.