Sen. Lindsey Graham, while calling for stronger economic pressure on Russia and warning that any peace deal must include the return of thousands of Ukrainian children taken by Russian forces, said Sunday that President Donald Trump is uniquely positioned to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.
“The only reason Vladimir Putin [was] in Alaska is because Trump threatened to put a 50% tariff on India for buying Russian oil and gas,” the South Carolina Republican told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “Putin fears Trump.”
Graham, endorsing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call for European allies to stop purchasing Russian energy, argued that targeting Moscow’s oil and gas customers is the most effective way to undercut its war effort.
“If Europe and the United States banded together and told Russia that if this war does not come to an end, we’re going to destroy your fossil fuel economy, this war would come to an end,” he said.
Graham also called on European nations to impose tariffs on countries purchasing Russian crude, including India and China.
He pointed out that Trump already has authority under legislation with more than 800 co-sponsors to impose tariffs as high as 500%. The president, he added, has already ordered a 50% tariff on India’s imports of Russian oil, which is set to take effect within months. He said similar measures against China could further pressure Putin.
Graham also said Sunday that he is pushing legislation to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism if it does not return the approximately 19,000 Ukrainian children whom international monitors say were forcibly taken to Russia.
“Russia has kidnapped 19,000 Ukrainian children, taken from Ukrainian families and sent to Russia,” he said. “If they do not return these children to Ukraine, then I’m going to push legislation to make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law.”
Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement this weekend that they are considering bipartisan legislation to advance that designation.
Meanwhile, first lady Melania Trump had her husband hand-deliver a letter to Putin on Friday, urging him to release the Ukrainian children, according to Newsmax. But Graham said that would not be enough to sway Moscow.
The senator also expressed confidence that the president could secure a settlement that would guarantee Ukraine’s security while avoiding future conflicts with Russia, but cautioned against rewarding Moscow with formal control over seized territory, noting that such concessions could embolden China against Taiwan.
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