Days after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting in Alaska, US Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has claimed that the Russian leader came for the meeting not for a ceasefire but after Trump’s threat of a 50% tariff on India for purchasing oil from Moscow. Graham claimed that if the US goes after Russian customers, they will choose the American economy.
Notably, Trump has threatened not only Russia but also India with harsh measures amid the raging Russia-Ukraine conflict. Trump has claimed that India’s purchase of Russian oil is fuelling Moscow’s war machine.
Also Read: ‘Embarrassment For United States’: Democrat Senator On Trump-Putin Meeting
Graham on Russian Oil Sale
Talking to Fox News, Lindsey Graham hinted at the idea of choking Russian oil sales. “The only reason Putin’s in Alaska is that he didn’t come to see how Alaska was doing after we bought it. He came to Alaska because Trump threatened to put a 50 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil and gas….If we went after the customers of Russia and said you had to pick between the American economy and buying cheap Russian oil or gas, they would pick the American economy.”
Putin didn’t come to Alaska to see how it was doing after the U.S. bought it.
Putin came to Alaska because President @realDonaldTrump put a 50% tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil and gas. pic.twitter.com/b8hXgDmrRE
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 17, 2025
Graham said that Russia’s weakness is its income from the sales of oil and gas to other countries. He claimed that imposing tariffs on countries like India will force them to side with the American economy.
“My advice to President Donald Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio is to convince Putin that if this war does not come to an end, we will crush the Russian economy by going after countries that buy their cheap oil and gas,” said Graham.
My advice to President @realDonaldTrump and @SecRubio is to convince Putin that if this war does not come to an end, we will crush the Russian economy by going after countries that buy their cheap oil and gas. pic.twitter.com/dLbvcAPJtR
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 17, 2025
Graham Mulls Terror Tag On Russia
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a known supporter of former President Donald Trump, said on Sunday that he may introduce a bipartisan measure to label Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism if it does not return the Ukrainian children it has allegedly taken.
Also Read: After Meeting Putin In Alaska, Trump Hints At ‘Big Progress’ With Russia
Russia is accused of forcibly removing more than 20,000 children from Ukraine amid the ongoing war, with some reportedly being put up for adoption and raised as Russian citizens. Ukrainian officials believe the actual number could be as high as 35,000, according to a report by the New York Post.
Ukrainian authorities and international human rights groups see the abductions as part of a larger Russian effort to tighten its control over Ukraine. In certain instances, there have been reports of kidnapped children being coerced into fighting against Ukrainian troops.