President Trump said that we will see within two weeks whether he has been misled, says the in many respects Trump-loyal senator Lindsey Graham.
Almost the entire Senate is backing a new and severe sanctions package against Russia, which would impose 500-percent tariffs on countries like China and India that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, thereby maintaining the Russian war economy.
When Donald Trump was asked about the bill on Friday, he gave an evasive answer:
I don't know. I would need to see it.
"Painfully clear"
Graham and his Democratic senatorial colleague Richard Blumenthal recently visited Kyiv and witnessed some of the destruction. They then traveled to France and met with President Emmanuel Macron, who they say stands with them "to 100 percent" on the issue of Ukraine.
What I learned on this trip was that he (Vladimir Putin) is preparing for more war, says Lindsey Graham, who says he has received information indicating a new Russian major offensive this summer or autumn.
The Republican says he trusts Donald Trump's diplomatic instincts, but thinks that attempts to directly influence Vladimir Putin have made it "painfully clear that he (Putin) is not interested in ending this war". According to Graham, it is a "crushing" package that has also been formulated in consultation with Trump's.
Warning: Can be drawn in
On Monday, a Ukrainian and a Russian delegation will meet again in Turkey, but the parties appear to be still far apart despite the US's pressure attempts over the past few months.
Putin is playing with President Trump, says Richard Blumenthal.
The two senators want to convey that the US risks being drawn into an even deeper conflict further down the line.
Now it's on the line for Putin and for the world, as Russia prepares for a new offensive, says Blumenthal.
The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Lindsey Graham in Berlin on Monday morning and emphasized that pressure is the only language the Kremlin understands.
"Therefore, the President welcomed Senator Graham's commitment to increase pressure and push the bill forward next week", it says in a press release.
