Oleg Davygora23:29, 16.05.25

Putin, according to Democrat Richard Blumenthal, will continue to delay and block ceasefire efforts.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham met in Turkey with representatives of European countries and Ukraine and presented them with a bill for “devastating” sanctions against Russia .

The document provides, in particular, for the introduction of tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil, gas and other resources, Bloomberg reports .

Graham, one of the authors of the sanctions bill, which provides for secondary 500% tariffs on major Russian exports, called for “stop playing games with Russia.”

“President [Russian Vladimir] Putin has no intention of being peaceful. Anything he agrees to will be a lie, and he needs a strong dose of military might against him and economic reality,” said Roger Wicker, one of the US senators who supported the bill.

Putin, according to another senator, Democrat Richard Blumenthal, “will continue to delay and block ceasefire efforts until his economy finds itself in isolation – on a financial island.”

In his statement, Blumenthal, as reported by Reuters , called for the sanctions package to be put to a vote immediately.

Devastating sanctions against Russia

The bill now has at least 73 co-sponsors out of 100 in the Senate, but the chamber has yet to set a possible date for its consideration. The bill has the support of nearly 80 senators , including members of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

On May 1, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated that the United States has no intention of lifting sanctions on Russia yet, and all current restrictions remain in effect.

(C)UNIAN 2025