Zelenskyy urges US to implement Graham Act: Russia is manipulating diplomacy

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO - 27 September, 21:06

Zelenskyy and Trump. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the US to implement Lindsey Graham's sanctions law against Russia, saying Russia is manipulating diplomatic signals and has no intention of ending the war.

Source: Zelenskyy on social media

Quote: "If Russia were truly preparing for any real steps toward de-escalation – as it claims, particularly to American negotiators – this wave of 'shahed' terror would not be happening. And we need to take a sober view of the situation. Russia knows how to send the kind of encouraging diplomatic signals that the world simply wants to hear… It knows how to send such signals in order to delay tough steps by the world in response to the war.

In America, the important Lindsey Graham sanctions and tariffs law has already reached the implementation stage. It is a law that can change a lot for the better if fully implemented. This law needs to be implemented – and everyone in the world can see that there is EVERY REASON to apply it and A CLEAR PURPOSE for doing so. We are counting on effective decisions from the world and stronger pressure from our partners, so that Russia sees that manipulating diplomatic signals will not allow it to keep winning more and more time for war and terror. It is important that our other partners in the G7 and G20 also take a principled stance."

Details: Zelenskyy said that new sanctions packages are also being prepared, including measures targeting financial chains, schemes for supplying components and equipment used to produce Russian weapons, as well as specific companies and individuals, particularly those involved in the production of Russian ballistic missiles.

"The new sanctions must take effect as early as October to provide a stronger foundation for changing the situation and pushing Russia toward real diplomacy," he stressed.

Background:

On 18 September, Trump signed the Russia sanctions bill, which was co-authored by the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
On 16 September, the US House of Representatives passed the Russia sanctions bill on the introduction of tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy. The bill was passed by the US Senate on 7 August.
On 22 September, Trump said that, if necessary, he was ready to implement the Graham Act on sanctions against Russia.
On 25 September, Zelenskyy said that during his conversation with Trump, he had raised the issue of implementing the Graham Act, which concerns sanctions against Russia and punitive tariffs on buyers of Russian energy.
On 26 September, amid Russian strikes on Ukrainian oblasts, Zelenskyy called on Trump to implement the Graham Act and urged the European Union to introduce additional sanctions against Russia.

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