An American bipartisan bill that would impose sanctions to Russia in an attempt to press Moscow so that the enthable peace negotiations in good faith with Ukraine has gained impulse this week in Congressbut he still lacks the presidential push you need to overcome the finish line.
Now, the supporters of Ukraine in Washington and kyiv, who for months have expected President Donald Trump to support the bill, They expect anxious what the Republican President has said that it will be an “important statement” about Russia on Monday.
Trump, who during his electoral campaign promised to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has not given details about what his planned announcement would consist, But in recent weeks it has been frustrated more and more publicly with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for his reluctance to accept a high fire and for the growing number of civil victims of Russian attacks.
On Tuesday, Trump approved the sending of American defensive armament to Ukraine. Two days later, he approached more than ever to support the draft law of sanctions, although he has not yet signed the text of the legislation, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking.
The leader of the republican majority in the Senate, John ThuneHe told reporters at the beginning of the week that the Senate could vote for the project this month.
Mike Johnson, the main Republican of the House of Representatives, has expressed a similar optimism, while the Republican senator Lindsey Graham and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have said privately to European diplomats that the bill will advance in an imminent way, according to a direct knowledge source of the matter.
“The Senate will soon advance in a draft law of hard sanctions, not only against Russia, but also against countries Like China and India that buy Russian energy products that finance Putin’s warlike machinery“Graham wrote on X on Tuesday.
Even so, it was not clear if Trump had resigned to boost diplomacy with Russia. And the wide veto power over the sanctions demanded by the White House could make the project of law is more symbolic than noun, some supporters recognize.
In statements to the press in Kuala Lumpur on Friday after his second meeting in person with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, Rubio said that “a new idea” was discussed that would take Trump back for new consultations. He didn’t want to give more details.
“That new concept is not something that automatically leads to peacebut I could potentially open the door to a road, “Rubio said.
But Trump’s frustration also reiterated due to Moscow’s lack of will to be more flexible And he said that Americans had told the Russians for weeks that a draft law of sanctions could well be approved.
Work ongoing
The bill, whose main sponsors are Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, It would impose broad sanctions against several people, government agencies and Russian financial institutions.
It would also punish other countries that trade with Moscow, imposing 500% tariffs on nations that buy oil, gas, uranium and other Russian exports.
The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, has repeatedly urged the western allies of Ukraine to impose harder sanctions on Moscow to force the Kremlin to accept a high fire as a previous step to the end of the war, which lasts 40 months.
The works on the bill have accelerated in the last week, According to two US officials.
A person familiar with Trump’s thought said the text still needs work. The current version, said that person, It does not give enough flexibility to carry out its foreign policy agenda regardless of the Congress.
The White House was working with Congress and the sponsors of the bill to ensure that it would be “An improvement for the president’s foreign policy,” added that person.
A person with knowledge of the writing process said that Congress personnel had been filing technical issues in recent days, as the way to prevent any sanction from affecting the operations of the United States Embassy in Moscow.
A Graham spokesman told Reuters that the bill would probably not reach the plenary until the week of July 21 As very soon, due to other legislative priorities.
The House of Representatives, which will have to vote on the measure, goes from August recess in two weeks, which means that the time in the hemicycle is scarce. This is especially true if Trump’s request to cut at $ 9.4 billion.– Go back to the camera after any change.
Some supporters of the bill recognize that the legislation is largely symbolic, since Trump would have extensive authority to veto the sanctions and,, In any case, I could simply issue sanctions from the Executive Power if you wish.
“The president already has all these authorities,” said a republican employee of the Senate.
