US Senate has taken first step towards sanctions against Russia and Iran: Zelenskyy was present during vote. PHOTOS
The US Senate held its first procedural vote on a bill imposing sanctions against Russia and Iran, which Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had been working on for over two years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present in the US Senate during the vote count.
Zelenskyy announced this on his Telegram channel, according to Censor.NET.
Zelenskyy’s meeting with US senators
He noted that he had held a major meeting today in Washington with representatives of both parties in the Senate – over 60 senators were present.
Procedural vote
"Thank you for this support and for your high regard for the achievements of our soldiers on the front line and Ukraine’s ability to respond appropriately to Russia’s attacks on our people. We discussed many topics, foremost among them anti-ballistic defence. Thank you for your willingness to help," the Head of State emphasised.
"It is symbolic that today, on the day we bid farewell to Senator Lindsey Graham, the Senate held a procedural vote on the bill concerning sanctions against Russia, on which he had worked so hard. It was an honour to be present during the vote count – 86 senators supported the bill. This is the first step towards realising Lindsey’s plans and certainly a step towards peace. It is important that this measure proves effective. I would like to thank the United States and both parties for their support," Zelenskyy concluded.
The Graham-Blumenthal Bill
The Graham-Blumenthal Bill (Sanctioning Russia Act) is a bipartisan initiative by US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, aimed at significantly increasing economic pressure on Russia and its trading partners. Following Graham’s death, his co-authors are continuing to push the bill forward.
Key provisions of the bill:
- the imposition of sanctions against the Russian leadership, state-owned banks, the energy sector and the so-called ‘shadow fleet’;
- granting the US President the authority to impose secondary tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries that continue to purchase significant volumes of Russian oil, gas and other energy resources. The initial version proposed 500 per cent, but following negotiations, the bill was scaled back to a maximum of 100 per cent;
- provision is made for the President to temporarily defer the application of certain sanctions or tariffs if this is in the national interest of the US.
