WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is now on board with a hard-hitting sanctions package meant to economically cripple Moscow as his administration continues to negotiate a deal to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he met with Trump at the White House earlier Wednesday, during which the president “greenlit” the Russia sanctions bill that has been in the works for months.
Graham had signaled previously that Trump has blessed the bill, only for it to encounter additional obstacles. But a White House official confirmed to The Associated Press Wednesday that the president supports the sanctions legislation.
“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 a statement, referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The bill, chiefly written by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., allows the administration to impose tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Doing so is meant to cut off the source of financing for much of Russia’s military actions.
The White House has previously insisted on some revisions and flexibility for Trump in the sanctions package, but the White House official on Wednesday did not elaborate on whether any changes were secured.
The legislation has dozens of co-sponsors in the Senate, as well as a companion bill in the House, drafted by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.
Graham said there could be a vote as early as next week, although it’s unclear how likely that will be. The Senate is poised to take up a scaled-back government funding package next week that the House is currently considering, if the House passes it. The following week is a Senate recess timed to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Trump administration is currently trying to finalize a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, now nearly four years old, with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, as the U.S. president’s chief negotiators.