Republican Senator Lindsey Graham / Associated Press
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (Democrat) and Lindsey Graham (Republican) called on President Donald Trump to immediately initiate a new law on tough sanctions against Russia and Iran. This was reported byPolitico.
“This moment requires presidential leadership. The situation is extremely urgent,” Blumenthal said on CBS’ s Face the Nation programme.
The senator urged Trump to push for a vote in the Senate the very next day to demonstrate the strength of the US position on the eve of the G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Canada:
“Right now, there may be a perception that America is weak on Ukraine. He (Trump) should be there in a position of strength.”
Blumenthal also stressed the need to strengthen sanctions against Iran, which was supported by Graham.
“I will be your ally. We will write a bill right here on television. China, if you are listening, stop buying Russian oil and helping the Iranians. You will make the world safer if you stop doing this,” the Republican said.
Earlier, Graham published an article on Fox News in which he noted that 84 senators and 70 members of the House of Representatives already support the sanctions bill.
“It is clear to me and almost all of the bill’s sponsors that the way we deal with Putin will either encourage or deter malicious actors around the world,” the senator wrote.
The situation with Russian aggression and energy cooperation between China, Russia and Iran is expected to be one of the key topics at the G7 summit, which begins this week.
