WASHINGTON — U.S. senators are close to agreeing on a Russia sanctions bill that could include some penalties even if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t send troops into Ukraine, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said.
“There are some sanctions that really could take place up front because of what Russia has already done,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “Cyberattacks on Ukraine, false flag operations, the efforts to undermine the Ukrainian government internally.”
A Russian invasion “later on” would trigger “devastating sanctions that ultimately would crush Russia’s economy,” Menendez, D-N.J., said. Russia has denied it plans to further invade Ukraine.
The comments suggest the Senate is closing in on a deal that includes the threat of hard-hitting measures against Russia’s financial industry and personal sanctions on top officials.
The White House hasn’t taken a position on the possible deal. A State Department official stopped short of endorsing the bill, saying deterrence works best when there’s an element of surprise behind the range of options the Biden administration is considering.
“So we’ve said financial measures, we’ve said export controls, we’ve said new sanctions on Russian elites,” Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “But if we put them on the table now, then Russia will be able to start mitigating and that doesn’t make any sense to us.”
“We are working intensively with the Congress on this piece of legislation that we expect will be very well aligned with what we are also building with our NATO allies and partners,” she said.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on “Fox News Sunday” that “one of the things about sanctions is once you trip that, then the deterrent effect is lost.”
While the U.S. and its allies have promised “massive sanctions” if Russia sends troops into Ukraine, there has been disagreement behind the scenes over how to respond, particularly to a Russian action short of full-blown war.
Menendez and Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the committee, told CNN that while there are details to be ironed out, the two sides are working together to convey a message to Putin.
“We are on the one-yard line,” said Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat. “I believe that we will get there. We have been working in good faith, we have been accommodating different views and we are committed jointly, in a bipartisan way, to defend Ukraine and to send Putin a message.”
“There’s been a 24-hour-a-day effort for the last several days,” Risch said.
