U.S. Senators Reach Agreement with Trump on Russia Sanctions Bill

EPA

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Four U.S. senators said on Friday that they had reached agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with updated legislation on Russia sanctions.

"We are proud ‌to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon," Senators Richard Blumenthal, Lindsey Graham, Jeanne Shaheen and Roger Wicker said in a statement.

Graham, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Friday, said the agreement meant the legislation could move forward, giving Trump fresh tools to help end the war, which is now in its fifth year.

"We've reached an agreement with the White House on a version of the Russian sanctions bill that they will support. It means it's going to become law," he told reporters, wrapping up his 10th visit to Kyiv.

The legislation, which Graham has been working on with fellow Republicans and Democrats for months, would impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its ‌energy exports, ⁠over Moscow's failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Trump met Zelenskiy earlier this week ⁠in Ankara. The tone of the meeting was a sharp departure from his past harsh criticism of Zelenskiy, which has included Trump calling him "ungrateful." During the meeting, Trump said the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, a ⁠move long sought by Kyiv.

Trump said on Wednesday that the two had developed a "very good" relationship and both Moscow and Kyiv wanted to end the war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Source: Reuters



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