The United States Senate has decided to temporarily suspend the examination of a new sanctions package against the Russian Federation until President Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin. According to the Bloomberg agency, this decision was announced by the Republican majority leader in the Upper House of Congress, John Thune.
“At least for the moment, we have put the process on hold,” Thune declared, emphasizing that the Senate has always sought to act in coordination with the White House. He added that Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the initiators of the bill, is in direct contact with the presidential administration to assess whether the meeting between Trump and Putin could yield concrete results and if it could unblock the legislative process.
If the negotiations do not result in progress, Thune warned, the sanctions package remains an “important tool in the president’s arsenal, which can be used against Russia”.
The bill, which has not yet reached the voting stage, provides for the imposition of severe sanctions not only against Russia, but also against countries that continue to purchase Russian energy resources without offering support to Ukraine. Among the proposed measures are customs tariffs of up to 500% on imports from these countries. This could have significant consequences for major players such as China and India – the main importers of energy from Russia.