US Congress gathers signatures to force a vote on tougher sanctions against Russia

Fitzpatrick announced that he is stepping up efforts amid reporting by The Wall Street Journal claiming that US President Donald Trump is allegedly demanding that Ukraine agree to a peace plan by November 27.

“Correction: The United States wants Russia’s answer on an unconditional withdrawal of Ukraine by Thursday. This Russian-drafted propaganda must be rejected and disregarded for the unserious nonsense that it is. This moment requires Peace Through Strength, not appeasement,” the congressman wrote.

He also reported that a group of members of the House of Representatives informed the leadership about the start of collecting signatures for a so-called discharge petition, which would allow the sanctions bill to be brought to the floor for a vote and enable the consideration of a package of tough sanctions against Russia.

The discharge petition mechanism allows a bill to reach the House floor without the support of the leadership if it is signed by 218 members of Congress.

The Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate had for months refrained from bringing the sanctions bill to a vote, waiting for a signal from Donald Trump.

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would soon decide on powerful sanctions against Russia, which would be stronger than any he had ever announced.

On November 17, it became known that Washington was preparing a new bipartisan bill to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. Trump, as stated by one of the bill’s co-authors, Senator Lindsey Graham, approved the document.

In October, the US imposed sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as their 36 subsidiaries, in order to force the Kremlin to engage in negotiations regarding Ukraine.