After holding a discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump, Senator Lindsey Graham said on June 29 that the U.S. president was ready for the Senate to vote on a bill to impose new sanctions on Russia.
Voting on the bill is expected to begin following the end of the July congressional break, Graham said.
"For the first time yesterday the president told me... he says, 'it's time to move your bill'," Graham said in an interview with ABC News, stressing that it would be Trump's purview as to whether the bill would ultimately be signed into law.
When asked if Graham expected Trump to sign the bill, the senator responded: "Yes, I think we're in good shape... But he has a waiver. It's up to him how to impose it."
Graham said he held the talk with Trump during a round of golf on June 28. No specific timeline was provided as to when the bill can be expected to be moved, although Congress is set to reconvene on July 9.
Signed by 84 co-sponsors, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have been working on a revised version of their bill that would impose secondary sanctions on Russian trading partners, while shielding Ukraine’s allies from penalties and making technical adjustments.
"So what does this bill do? If you're buying products from Russia and you're not helping Ukraine, then there's a 500 percent tariff on your products coming into the United States. India and China buy 70 percent of Putin's oil. They keep his war machine going," Graham explained.
Despite pressure, Trump has thus far refused to impose additional sanction against on his own accord. Amid discussion around the Senate bill, Trump has reportedly asked Graham to to soften his proposed sanctions, having previously postponed a vote on the bipartisan measure.
Amid the slow process of moving the proposed bill, Graham described the move as a "big breakthrough."
Ukraine has repeatedly urged the United States to impose additional sanctions on Russia as Moscow continues increase the frequency and magnitude of its attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Graham's comments come just hours after Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that Washington lifted sanctions that hindered the expansion of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, where Russia's state-owned energy company Rosatom is to build two new reactors.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
