Momentum building for more US sanctions on Russia as peace remains elusive: experts

Recent legislative developments and comments from the Trump administration suggest the US may be inching toward new sanctions to motivate the Kremlin to strike a peace deal, experts said on May 5.

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican-South Carolina, has secured veto-proof level of support for new sanctions legislation against Russia, Daniel Fried, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, said during a webinar hosted by the organization.

"He could not have done that in the face of determined opposition from the White House, which means that at least parts of the Trump administration are giving him a green light to prepare for sanctions, if not yet pull the trigger on them," Fried said.

The legislation would impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia's war in Ukraine if Russia fails to engage in good-faith negotiations, according to a statement about the bill from Graham's office.

The measure, S. 1241, would also impose a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products, the statement said.

The Senate bill now has 66 co-sponsors and a companion measure in the House, H.R. 2548, has 26 cosponsors.

Trump's stance

US President Donald Trump said he is weighing whether he would sign the bill if it is passed.

"Well, it depends on whether or not Russia is behaving toward coming to a peace," Trump said in a May 4 interview on NBC News. "We want Russia and Ukraine to agree to a deal. We think we're fairly close, and we're going to save a lot of people from being killed."

There is also a rumor that the US Treasury Department has prepared a series of sanctions against Russia, Fried said. "These could be quite effective, and it may be that this story is a deliberate leak intended to put the Kremlin on notice that Trump is running out of patience for [Russian President Vladmir] Putin's games," he said.

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sanctions are working, said Marie Mendras, a professor at the Paris School of International Affairs. Sanctions relief is among Putin's top demands in peace negotiations, which shows that they are hurting Russia, she said.

"The fact now that at the highest level in Washington, the United States is thinking of new sanctions, this is a major defeat for Putin," she said.