Washington: US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced that President Donald Trump has given the "green light" to advance a bipartisan bill imposing tougher sanctions on Russia. Graham shared on X that after a "very productive" meeting with President Trump, approval was granted for the sanctions bill he has collaborated on for months with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and others.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Graham anticipated that the Senate would vote on the legislation early next week. He outlined that, if approved, the bill would provide President Trump with significant leverage over countries such as China, India, and Brazil to pressure them to halt their purchases of Russian oil. These purchases, he noted, contribute to financing Russia's military efforts against Ukraine.
The announcement coincided with previous US actions to detain two oil tankers in the North Atlantic, one flying the Russian flag, after being pursued from the Venezuelan coast under US sanctions. Commenting on the operation, the White House emphasized that President Trump is not hesitant to continue detaining sanctioned oil tankers.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated that the policy would be enforced in alignment with US interests, including banning vessels from the so-called shadow fleet that transports oil illegally.