Members of the U.S. Republican Party are drafting a bill that would allow sanctions to be imposed on any country that continues doing business with Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump said this on Sunday, November 16, while speaking to the media near the presidential aircraft in Florida.
During the conversation, one of the journalists asked whether it was “time” for the U.S. Congress to step up pressure on Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. “I’ve heard they’re working on it, and that’s fine with me. The Republicans are pushing a bill that is very powerful — it imposes sanctions of various kinds on any country that does business with Russia,” Trump responded.
According to the U.S. president, Iran could be added to the list of such countries.
In April, Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal called for the introduction of trade tariffs of up to 500 percent on countries that purchase oil, gas, uranium, and other goods from Russia while not supporting Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion.
“India and China buy 70% of Putin’s oil, keeping his war machine running. My bill is supported by 84 senators. It will allow the president to impose sanctions on India, China, and other countries so they stop sponsoring Putin’s war machine and bring them to the negotiating table,” Graham explained.
