一个两党参议员小组周二公布了由已故参议员林赛·格雷厄姆(Lindsey Graham)促成的立法，该立法将惩罚俄罗斯的能源出口和购买能源的外国合作伙伴。
这项立法由周六突然去世的格雷厄姆和民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔(Richard Blumenthal)倡导，在白宫周五同意该法案的条款后，参议院助手预计这可能是一次成功的投票。
参议院的一名助手说，周二在国会山举行的新闻发布会上提交的这项法案得到了格雷厄姆的个人签名。这位助手说，自格雷厄姆去世后，该法案的文本没有修改过。
该法案制裁俄罗斯金融机构及其最大的国有能源项目，同时针对俄罗斯在石油和天然气贸易中的合作伙伴。俄罗斯原油的五大进口商将根据该法案受到高达100%的关税制裁，其天然气的五大进口商也将受到制裁。
对天然气购买者有一些关键的豁免，其中包括法国和日本等美国的盟友，这些国家正在停止从俄罗斯进口天然气。
中国是俄罗斯原油和天然气的最大进口国，根据法案文本的条款，中国将面临100%的关税，但关税不能“叠加”或翻倍，达到200%。
一名参议院助手告诉记者，如果唐纳德·特朗普总统通过并签署该法案，将对与俄罗斯进行国防项目贸易的国家实施惩罚，其中包括伊朗。
周二被问及是否支持该法案时，特朗普说:“我知道林赛非常想要它。我想他们可能会把伊朗加入其中。他们将加入伊朗，这是一件大事。如果他们这样做了，他们可能会加入真主党。”
当被问及特朗普在新闻发布会上的说法时，布卢门撒尔说:“恕我直言，总统已经批准了这项法案，我们应该推进这项法案，而不是在我看来，向其他潜在目标开放。如果他想提出其他法案。我们会考虑它们，但我认为这项法案已经经过了近两年的谈判，历经艰辛，有时是痛苦的，非常漫长。”
该法案已经搁置了一年多，等待白宫的签署和调整。
一名助手说，北约峰会期间在安卡拉与财政部长斯科特·贝森特的谈话有助于与白宫达成协议。这名助手表示，对莫斯科施加额外压力的时机正值华盛顿“非常理解并感受到乌克兰在战场上展示的势头”。
布卢门撒尔说，该法案的通过将是对格雷厄姆的“恰如其分的赞颂”。
流行读物
布卢门撒尔说:“当格雷厄姆参议员和我最后一次通话时，他欣喜若狂，从基辅打来电话，告诉我特朗普总统将支持这项法案，对俄罗斯石油的购买者征收高额关税和制裁，并阻止他们为普京的战争机器提供燃料。”“现在是推动俄罗斯走向和平的时候了。乌克兰正在获得净领土，并通过其无人机和导弹深入俄罗斯。制裁提供了一条通向和平的道路。”
该法案的共和党支持者之一、参议员汤姆·科顿(Tom Cotton)表示，国会应该“立即”通过该法案。
“格雷厄姆参议员深知，提高俄罗斯的成本是唯一的解决办法。我们的法案将进一步限制他们的能源销售，以扼杀普京的战争机器，并把他带到谈判桌前，”科顿说。
Bipartisan group of senators unveil Graham's Russia sanctions bill
A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday unveiled the legislation brokered by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that would punish Russian energy exports and the foreign partners who purchase it.
The legislation, championed by Graham, whodied suddenly on Saturday, and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, is set to move toward what Senate aides previewed as a likely successful vote after the White House agreed to the bill's terms on Friday.
The bill, presented at a news conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill, had the personal sign-off from Graham, a Senate aide said. The bill text has not been changed since Graham's death, the aide said.
The bill sanctions Russian financial institutions and its largest state energy projects while targeting Russian partners in the oil and natural gas trade. The top five importers of Russian crude oil will be sanctioned under the bill at a tariff rate of up to 100%, and the top five importers of its natural gas will also be subject to sanctions.
There are key exemptions spelled out for purchasers of natural gas, which include U.S. allies like France and Japan, who are weaning off Russian imports.
China, which is the top importer of both Russian crude oil and natural gas, would face a 100% tariff under the terms of the bill text, though the tariffs cannot be "stacked," or doubled, to reach 200%.
The legislation, if passed and signed by President Donald Trump, would impose penalties on countries who trade with Russia on defense items, which would include Iran, a Senate aide told reporters.
Asked Tuesday if he supports the bill, Trump said, “I know that Lindsey wanted it very badly. I think they may be adding Iran to it. They're going to add Iran, which is a very big thing. If they did that, they may add Hezbollah."
Asked about Trump's assertion at the news conference, Blumenthal said, "With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with this bill rather than opening it, in my view, to other potential targets. If there are other bills that he wants to propose. We'll consider them, but I think this bill has been negotiated over almost two years, painstakingly, sometimes painfully, at great length."
The bill had been stalled for more than a year, awaiting sign-off and adjustments from the White House.
One aide said conversations with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Ankara during the NATO summit helped secure an agreement with the White House. The aide said that the timing for additional pressure on Moscow comes at a time when "the momentum that Ukraine is demonstrating on the battlefield is pretty much understood and felt all around" in Washington.
Blumenthal said passage of the bill would be a "fitting tribute" to Graham.
Popular Reads
"When Senator Graham and I last spoke, he was absolutely exultant, calling from Kyiv with news that that President Trump would support this bill to impose scorching tariffs and sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil and stop them from fueling Putin's war machine," Blumenthal said."Now is the time to push Russia toward peace. Ukraine is gaining net territory and reaching deep into Russia with its drones and missiles. Sanctions provide a path toward peace."
Sen. Tom Cotton, among the bill's Republican supporters, said Congress should pass the bill "immediately."
"As Senator Graham knew well, raising the costs on Russia is the only solution. Our bill will further restrict their energy sales to strangle Putin's war machine and bring him to the negotiating table," Cotton said.
