Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., responded to the editors of The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday with an opinion essay of his own in which he said the U.S. Senate is “prepared either way” to “grind” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine” to a halt.
Graham was responding to an editorial published last week titled “A Sanctions Message to Putin — and China” in which the outlet advocated for Republicans to advance Graham’s bipartisan bill that would “hit countries that buy Russian oil and gas with tariff sanctions.” The Journal said that while President Donald Trump continues to say discussions with Putin “went well,” they argue there is no concrete evidence to support that claim.
Over the weekend, Russia launched additional drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, escalating the conflict and pushing the already fragile peace talks further out of reach. U.S. and other Western nations have now proposed secondary sanctions against Russia and those who buy Russian oil to squeeze the economy.
Trump appears to have lost patience with the Russian president, posting following the attacks that Putin had gone “absolutely crazy!”
Graham said his bill in the Senate can stop Putin one way or another by implementing the secondary sanctions. “The bill would put Russia on a trade island, slapping 500% tariffs on any country that buys Moscow’s energy products. The consequences of its barbaric invasion must be made real to those that prop it up. If China or India stopped buying cheap oil, Mr. Putin’s war machine would grind to a halt,” Graham wrote.
“While Ukraine has made clear it is ready for such an end, Russia has made more excuses than the market can bear. President Trump has asked Vladimir Putin to provide a term sheet outlining the requirements for a ceasefire, bringing the roadblocks to peace to a head. Depending on how Russia responds, we will know which course to take,” Graham added, “The Senate is prepared either way.”
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