U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed hope that the House of Representatives will pass the bill he co-sponsored with Lindsey Graham to strengthen sanctions against Russia and Iran this September.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, he made this statement at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Blumenthal said that during his previous visit to Ukraine in May, he had pledged to redouble efforts to secure passage of the sanctions bill. Now that the Senate had approved it, he said he was returning with even greater determination to ensure that the House of Representatives also passed the legislation, expressing hope that this would happen in September.
He said the House would resume work in September and said he was in close contact with its leadership. Blumenthal expressed hope that a decision on the bill would be taken then, adding that the efforts he had promised during his previous visit had indeed been intensified.
The senator also said he had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and encouraged him to remain open to talks with members of the House of Representatives, just as he had communicated with senators. According to Blumenthal, Zelenskyy was willing to speak with House members.
Blumenthal recalled Zelenskyy's visit to the United States, during which the Ukrainian president met senators behind closed doors and was present for the vote on the bill. He said Zelenskyy's reaction to the vote had been inspiring and moving, and expressed hope that he would engage with members of the House in the same way. Blumenthal added that when he suggested this, Zelenskyy readily agreed.
He said he hoped Zelenskyy might hold such talks during a visit to New York and the United Nations, or at another suitable time.
Blumenthal concluded that he would return to the United States with concrete evidence of how important the sanctions bill was.
As reported, on August 7, the U.S. Senate approved Lindsey Graham's bill to strengthen sanctions against Russia and Iran. The bill was sent to the House of Representatives.
Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, has been among Ukraine's most outspoken allies in Congress during the long-running conflict with Russia, and this bill aims to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its military invasion of Ukraine.
The bill also includes expanded sanctions against Iran, which President Donald Trump had insisted upon.
The bill calls for the imposition of 100% secondary tariffs against countries that continue to purchase Russian oil and gas. This primarily refers to China and India.
In addition, the bill provides for sanctions against Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers, Russian financial institutions – including the Central Bank of Russia – as well as major state-owned energy projects, specifically Yamal LNG, Arctic LNG-1, Arctic LNG-2, and Arctic LNG-3.
Before the vote, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who was at the Capitol, met with all the senators and urged them to support the bill, which was introduced by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Afterward, Zelenskyy was present in the chamber during the vote.
