A bipartisan group of American senators has introduced a bill that would inflicts severe sanctions on countries keeping close relations with Russia if Moscow scuppers ongoing efforts to bring the Ukraine war to an end.
Even as US President Donald Trump tried to mediate a ceasefire, his government has been unable to get a breakthrough despite holding talks with both Russia and Ukraine. Though Ukraine recently signed on to an offer of a 30-day ceasefire, Moscow has rejected the US-sponsored initiative and ratcheted up its demands for fresh leadership in Kyiv.
On Tuesday, 50 Republican and Democratic senators unveiled a proposal to impose a 500 percent tariff on imports from countries purchasing fuel and uranium from Russia. The measure would be enacted if Moscow ‘refuses to negotiate in good faith a durable peace with Ukraine’. Furthermore, the sanctions would be enacted if Russia “launches another attempt, including military invasion, that erodes the sovereignty of Ukraine after negotiating peace,” the senators, with Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal as leaders, said.
Trump has also condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky for the stalled peace talks. In the meantime, relations between Washington and Moscow have relaxed since Trump’s return to power, with his threats to pull out of support for Kyiv bolstering Russia’s position on the battlefield.
Ukraine has, however, accused Russia of dragging out talks without a serious intention to end fighting. The situation is still volatile, with new Russian attacks on the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
