President Trump is ready to fulfill with NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte this week on the heels of the U.S. chief saying plans to promote NATO allies weapons that it will possibly move on to Ukraine.
In a press release, NATO mentioned Rutte can be in Washington on Monday and Tuesday and also will meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth and members of Congress.
Sen. Lindsey Graham confirmed on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that he and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal can be assembly with Rutte on Monday.
“A turning point regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is coming,” Graham mentioned.
NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte
Markus Schreiber / AP
Whereas NATO’s assertion didn’t state a cause for Rutte’s journey, it comes after Mr. Trump teased final week that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday, as Ukraine struggles to repel huge and sophisticated air assaults launched by Russian forces.
The president additionally hinted that his administration will ship extra defensive weapons to Ukraine amid its battle with Russia, days after pausing some weapons shipments.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves,” Mr. Trump informed reporters throughout a White Home occasion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening.
Mr. Trump informed reporters Sunday the U.S. could be sending extra Patriot missiles to Ukraine, however that he hadn’t but determined what number of.
Graham mentioned on “Face the Nation” to “stay tuned for a plan where America will begin to sell to our European allies tremendous amounts of weapons that can benefit Ukraine.”
“The idea of America selling weapons to help Ukraine is very much in play,” Graham mentioned. “We’ve given Ukraine a lot. We give them the money, we give them military aid. We now have a minerals agreement with Ukraine that’s worth trillions of dollars. So, I don’t want to get ahead of the President, but stay tuned about seized assets. The Europeans want to limit the interest on the assets to go to Ukraine.”
Rubio mentioned Friday that a few of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is in search of are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. These weapons may very well be transferred to Ukraine, with European international locations shopping for replacements from the U.S., he mentioned.
“It’s a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (U.S.) factory and get it there,” Rubio informed reporters final week throughout a go to to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mr. Trump can be dealing with calls from Republicans and Democrats, in addition to European allies, to help laws within the Senate that goals to cripple Russia’s oil business and hit Moscow with U.S. sanctions for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The laws, partly, requires a 500% tariff on items imported from international locations that proceed to purchase Russian oil, fuel, uranium and different exports. It will have an unlimited impression on financial behemoths China and India, which account for roughly 70% of Russia’s power commerce.
Graham mentioned he and Blumenthal have help for “congressional sanctions with a sledgehammer” that may “go after” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economic system and “all those countries who prop up the Putin war machine.”
“This congressional package that we’re looking at would give President Trump the ability to impose 500% tariffs on any country that helps Russia, and props up Putin’s war machine,” Graham mentioned. “He can dial it up or down. He can go to 0%, to 500%. He has maximum flexibility. But we’re going after the people who keep Putin in business and additional sanctions on Russia itself. This is truly a sledgehammer available to President Trump to end this war.”
Blumenthal mentioned this can be a “critical moment” for these sanctions and “bringing down this sledgehammer at this moment was emphasized by all of the European allies who were at the meeting that Sen. Graham and I attended in Europe.”
Congress has been ready to behave on the laws, sponsored by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, for a while.
The invoice has overwhelming help within the Senate, however Republican management has been ready for Trump to present the inexperienced gentle earlier than shifting forward with it. The White Home had expressed some reservations in regards to the laws.
Margaret Brennan
contributed to this report.
