Trump consults Senate on Russia sanctions but insists on final say — White House

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated this, Radio Free Europe reported.

“The president has been in very close communication with his friends in the Senate, particularly Senator Lindsey Graham on this issue. But the president has always maintained, you know, he's the commander-in-chief and the president for a reason. And he has been deeply involved in this conflict since the beginning. And so any decisions that are made with respect to sanctions, the president wants to reserve that authority and that right to himself,” Leavitt said.

At the end of June, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated that U.S. President Donald Trump supported the approval of a bill imposing sanctions on Russia for oil trade. According to him, there has been a “major breakthrough” on the sanctions issue against Russia.

However, he added that the proposed bill would not automatically impose sanctions on Russia — the final decision would be made by the U.S. president.

Earlier, Graham, his Democratic colleague Richard Blumenthal, and over 80 co-authors introduced a bill that would impose additional economic sanctions on Russia for refusing a ceasefire, including a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries buying Russian oil.

The bill has support in the House of Representatives, but since its introduction in spring, no steps have been taken toward its adoption. The document has yet to be approved.

• Earlier, Donald Trump stated that he would impose secondary tariffs on Russia that could reach 100% if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.