CNN
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The bipartisan pair of US senators met with Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky in Kiev on Friday to urge strong sanctions on Russia, but uncertainty has swirled over whether the next round of peace negotiations will move forward in the coming days.
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut met with Zelensky, the capital, and other senior Ukrainian officials. Their visit came days after Russia launched its biggest air attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, when the US pressured Moscow to end the three-year conflict.
Among the topics discussed were ongoing peace negotiations and proposed laws to strengthen US sanctions against Russia, according to a statement from the Ukrainian President’s Office.
Graham and Blumenthal are co-hosting bipartisan bills to impose more sanctions on Russia. This is a concept that has gained support among many Republican lawmakers in recent weeks as Moscow has stepped up its deadly air attack.
Graham said lawmakers will move forward with votes on the bill next week, Reuters news agency reported. The bill is supported by 82 senators from both sides of the aisle and will impose a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries purchasing Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products. It must pass both chambers of Congress and be approved by President Donald Trump to become law.
Trump has previously refrained from imposing more sanctions as he attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev. However, he has threatened to impose measures in the past if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire.
When asked by a reporter on Friday if he would support the bill, Trump replied, “I don’t know, I have to see it. I’ll see it.”
Graham said Friday he was talking to Trump before his trip, and according to Reuters, the US president is hoping for “specific actions” from Moscow.
The visit comes when Ukrainian officials raised questions on Monday about planned peace talks in Istanbul.
“For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear and negotiations must be properly prepared,” Zelensky wrote to X on Friday.
Zelensky also wrote in speaking with Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan, “I share the view that this meeting should not be empty.”
“Neither Ukraine as the host nor Turkey has any information on Russia’s so-called memorandum,” he said in an evening speech, accusing Russia of “hiding” memorandums from both countries.
Ukraine already offers its own version of the Memorandum of Peace, officials say.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow will present a memorandum during the next talks.
Zelensky said he and his Turkish counterparts also spoke about the possibility of organizing four-way meetings with leaders from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the US to further promote peace talks.
In recent weeks, the US president has been visibly annoyed by Russia over a deadly attack on Ukraine and a lack of progress in peace negotiations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to hold a “in-person meeting” in Turkey earlier this month, but never showed up despite Zelensky agreeing to meet. In the end, the two countries sent a low-level delegation to negotiate instead.
The largest large prisoner exchange since the start of the war was the only important outcome, with both sides agreeing to release 1,000 prisoners on their respective sides, but it was concealed by an ongoing Russian attack.
Trump expressed his frustration with President Putin at the time, saying, “We were talking, he was shooting rockets at Kiev and other cities.”
