Republicans push for tougher sanctions amid stalled Russia talks
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has advocated for imposing stronger sanctions on Russia following no change in Russia's stance during talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. The Senate Republican leader, John Thune, also expressed readiness to increase sanctions. The party is waiting for a signal from the White House.
Many members of Parliament want to impose the strongest possible sanctions on Russia. And I support that, Johnson stated on Monday, noting, however, that he has not yet discussed this with President Donald Trump. Johnson is the highest-ranking Republican to support imposing additional sanctions on Russia.
The party leader in the Senate, John Thune, also declared on Monday that the Senate "also stands ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way."
President Trump has invested considerable time in working to end the bloodshed in Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin appears more interested in prolonging the war than in pursuing peace, Thune said.
He suggested that a sanctions bill, submitted back in April and signed by 82 of the 100 senators, could be considered later this week. However, he indicated that he is still waiting for a "green light" from the White House.
"Bone-breaking" package
The bill authored by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal - called the bone-breaking package by Graham and the harshest sanctions ever seen in Congress - mandates the administration to impose sanctions on entities from Russia's energy and banking sectors, and also 500% duties on countries buying oil from it.
Parliamentarians from both parties in both houses of the US Parliament have been pressing for the imposition of sanctions for some time. On Monday, new impetus was given by the negotiations of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, where Russia presented Ukraine with impossible-to-fulfill conditions, including, among others, ceding territories that Russia does not occupy and limiting the size of the Ukrainian army. Russia once again rejected a ceasefire proposal.
Villain and a bully
On Monday, Democratic leaders in the Senate also pressed for sanctions.
Putin is a clear villain and a bully. So where is Donald Trump's backbone? Where is his conviction? said Senate party leader Chuck Schumer.
His deputy, Dick Durbin, argued that while Republicans are ready to introduce new sanctions, they are hearing instructions from the White House to hold off.
In recent days, Donald Trump has harshly criticized Putin and threatened to impose sanctions, yet he has so far refused to make an unequivocal declaration that he will proceed, claiming he doesn't want to act while he believes there are chances for reaching an agreement. On Friday, he stated that the decision regarding sanctions will be made within the next week or two.
As a diplomat from one of the NATO countries - whom Graham keeps informed about the progress of the project - told PAP, although President Trump probably does not want to strain relations with Putin, he may soon be forced to do so by circumstances and political pressure.
At some point, a critical mass will accumulate, where he simply won't be able to hold it back any longer. Besides, he's just losing politically from it, the PAP interlocutor said.
