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Half of the US Senate, led by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, presented on Tuesday a bipartisan bill on imposing sanctions against Russia in case the Kremlin disrupts the US president’s peace efforts regarding Ukraine.
This is stated in a statement on Senator Blumenthal’s website.
Sanctions presented by 50 American senators will be enacted if peace negotiations fail or an agreement is reached but Russia violates it.
Among the punishments that the law may lead to are 500-percent tariffs on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other Russian products.
“In the US Senate, the dominant opinion is that Russia is the aggressor, and that this terrible war and Putin’s aggression must stop now and be deterred in the future,” said American senators.
“Sanctions against Russia require the imposition of tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products. They are harsh for a reason,” they added.
US President Donald Trump expressed frustration over Vladimir Putin delaying ceasefire negotiations. Senators who supported the bill on primary and secondary sanctions against Russia share the same frustration.
“We share President Trump’s frustration regarding Russia when it comes to the ceasefire and support President Trump’s aspiration to achieve a lasting, just, and dignified peace. In 1994, under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up approximately 1,700 units of nuclear weapons in exchange for a promise from the US, Russia, and the UK to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in the future. This failed to deter Russian aggression,” the senators stated.
“In 2014 and 2015, the Minsk agreements were reached, which ended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but again, they did nothing to deter future aggression. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine again, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions,” the American lawmakers added.
During negotiations in Saudi Arabia, Russian negotiators called on the US to facilitate the lifting of sanctions on Russian banks and the promotion of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products on the world market before agreeing to a ceasefire.
“We hope that in 2025, President Trump and his team will achieve what has eluded the world in the past: permanently ending Russian aggression against Ukraine and ensuring the survival of a free and democratic Ukraine. These sanctions against Russia are already prepared and will receive overwhelming bipartisan, bicameral support if presented for a vote in the Senate and House of Representatives,” wrote the lawmakers.
According to the Reuters agency, senior Trump administration officials in recent days have begun to acknowledge that the US may not achieve a peace agreement regarding Ukraine in the coming months.
Read also: Trump’s candidate for top US general supports military aid to Ukraine
