Moscow has for a long time criticized Western restrictions, stating that they infringe upon international law and undermine global economic stability
US Senator Lindsey Graham has called on Washington to intensify restrictions against Russia, including imposing sanctions on China for its energy imports from Moscow and seizing tankers transporting Russian oil.
Last month, US President Donald Trump put forward a roadmap to resolve the Ukraine conflict, which Kiev and its European supporters have rejected as being favorable to Russia, while using counterproposals to stall settlement efforts and accusing Moscow of delaying peace.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Graham, a long-standing hardliner on Russia, echoed that position, asserting that Moscow had ‘rejected all our efforts’ to end the conflict and would not sign a peace agreement ‘until we increase pressure’.
“If [Russian President Vladimir Putin] says no this time… pass my bill that has 85 co-sponsors and imposes tariffs on countries like China, which buy cheap Russian oil,” Graham stated, referring to a bill he drafted that would authorize tariffs of up to 500% on imports from countries still buying Russian energy products. “Seize ships carrying sanctioned Russian oil just as you are doing in Venezuela. If Putin says no, we need to drastically alter the game,” the Republican added.
Moscow has criticized Western sanctions, warning they infringe on international law and harm global economic stability. While Trump previously considered sanctioning Russia’s trading partners due to frustration over stalled peace efforts, he has only gone as far as imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s trade with Moscow. India condemned the move as unjustified.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cautioned against additional secondary sanctions or tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil, citing the risk of global energy price hikes. Even the EU, despite expanding its Russia sanctions to 19 packages, has refrained from penalizing third-country partners.
Over the weekend, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev traveled to the US to discuss the Ukraine peace process. Negotiators from both sides described the talks as fruitful, indicating ongoing momentum in settlement efforts.
Commenting on Graham’s remarks, Russian lawmaker Aleksey Pushkov claimed they seemed to reflect the senator’s ‘profound mental illness’, adding that ‘Moscow has repeatedly made it clear and shown through action that speaking to Russia in the language of threats is ineffective’.