The US Senate will soon move forward with a bill on tough sanctions against Russia, China, and India, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said, according to UNN.
President Donald Trump is absolutely right about the games Putin is playing. The Senate will soon move forward with a bill on tough sanctions - not only against Russia, but also against countries like China and India, which buy Russian energy and finance Putin's war machine.
According to the senator, the Senate bill provides for presidential powers that "give President Trump maximum leverage."
"When it comes to Putin and those who support his war machine, it's time to change the rules of the game," Graham noted.
According to Politico, speaking about the bill on new significant sanctions against Russia, its author, Senator Lindsey Graham, said: "We are moving forward." And added that Trump "told me it's time to act, so we will act."
Graham, as indicated, joined Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republican senators in announcing consideration of this bill later this week. This could lead to the long-delayed bill being considered later this month, the publication writes.
Behind the scenes, Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal have reportedly amended the bill, expanding the president's waiver authority for sanctions. In their opinion, this is in line with the White House's desire to give Trump more flexibility.
While the current bill would allow Trump to waive sanctions against countries buying Russian oil or uranium for 180 days, the revised bill provides for a second 180-day waiver, Graham said. Applying the second waiver would trigger a vote in Congress, though he did not specify what exactly that vote would mean.
"I am confident that the president is ready for our actions," Graham said.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on Graham's statement, pointing instead to Trump's public statements made earlier on Tuesday.
The sanctions will not be imposed this week, two sources said.
However, Thune told reporters that he is closely coordinating the timing with the White House and the House of Representatives.
"We'll have more to say about it later this week," Thune told reporters, adding that there is "a lot of interest" in introducing the bill.
Addition
The surge in activity on this issue came after Trump publicly stated that he was seriously considering a sanctions bill, expressing sharp frustration with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's refusal to engage in peace talks with Ukraine.