U.S. President Donald Trump is holding up a vote on a bipartisan bill that would tighten sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, senior Democratic senators warned, according to Yahoo News.
Speaking in Kyiv following the weekend’s Munich Security Conference, Senator Richard Blumenthal said the sanctions proposed alongside Senator Lindsey Graham are designed to exert “economic pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin while U.S.-mediated talks between Kyiv and Moscow continue in Geneva this week.
Current U.S. and European sanctions have recently started to limit Russia’s oil production, but Blumenthal emphasized that stronger measures are needed. He noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune had promised the bill would be brought to a vote before the end of the congressional session.
According to Blumenthal, the main obstacle is Trump. “We are waiting for the green light, and he’s hesitating so much it makes anyone following dizzy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the administration is reportedly making progress in countering Russia’s “shadow fleet” – tankers evading sanctions, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse added. He noted that recent U.S. interventions near Venezuela demonstrate that American forces are prepared to seize additional vessels if necessary.
This delay highlights ongoing tensions in Washington over how aggressively to apply economic pressure on Russia amid the evolving situation in Ukraine.
