Washington DC [US], January 9: American Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said that US President Donald Trump has given a green light to the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill which would give leverage against India, China, and Brazil to stop them from purchasing Russian oil and punish the countries "fueling Putin's war machine".
In a post on X he said that the move comes amid the backdrop of the ongoing peace negotiations for Ukraine and hinted that it would go for a bipartisan vote next week.
"After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others.This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin's war machine. This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin's bloodbath against Ukraine. I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote, hopefully as early as next week."
As per the official website of US Congress, the bill titled "Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025" by Graham seeks to impose several provisions, which includes penalties on individuals and entities including an increase of the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services.
On January 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the members of the US delegation including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, where both sides discussed upon a diplomatic approach towards ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had claimed that PM Modi was unhappy over high tariggs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil.
At the House GOP Member Retreat, Trump suggested that although relations remain cordial, the tariff issue has created tension.
"I have a very good relationship with PM Modi, but he is not happy with me as India is paying high tariffs. But now they have reduced it very substantially, buying oil from Russia," Donald Trump said.
The tariffs, totalling 50%, were imposed due to India's significant purchases of Russian oil, which the US sees as supporting Russia's economy amid the Ukraine conflict.
Trump's remarks came a day after he warned that Washington could further raise tariffs on Indian goods if New Delhi does not address US concerns over Russian oil imports.
"They wanted to make me happy, basically. Modi is a very good man; he is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy," he said.
India has earlier rejected Trump's assertion that PM Narendra Modi had assured him New Delhi would stop purchasing Russian oil, clarifying that no such conversation or assurance had taken place.
Source: Times of Oman
