US Senate vote clears path for tough new sanctions on Russia
Photo: Senators want to approve sanctions before the August recess (Getty Images)
On the night of July 29, the US Senate passed a key resolution necessary for the adoption of severe sanctions against Russia, which had been championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, according to CNN and Reuters.
The vote ended with 86 in favor and 12 against. Now, Senate leadership hopes to reach an agreement with all 100 senators so that the sanctions package can be adopted before the August recess.
But the problem is that any senator can object and slow down the process.
The vote on the procedural motion took place a few hours after Graham’s funeral and shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with senators.
After the meeting, senators invited Zelenskyy to observe part of the vote from the Senate gallery, after which he applauded and said, "thank you." Several senators applauded him in return.
The sanctions against Russia include tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas, including India and China.
Other key points
Bloomberg recently reported that a bipartisan group of senators had reached an agreement on the final text of the bill on Lindsey Graham’s sanctions against Russia.
The problem was that Democrats were unhappy with a version that would give Trump broad authority over these sanctions. The initial version stipulated that the imposition or lifting of restrictions would be decided by Congress. However, the US President insisted that the text be rewritten to suit him so that he could personally decide these matters without Congress.
Some Democrats are also opposed to the move, as they believe that this tariff, if implemented by Trump, could cause economic harm to both American families and European allies.
On July 28, a meeting took place in the US between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. Read about the meeting and what was discussed.
