A White House official has said that US President Donald Trump is ready to sign a law imposing sanctions on Russia, provided he keeps the authority to make the final decision on those measures.

Source: senior White House official; Reuters

Details: Trump told journalists on the evening of 16 November that he had nothing against Republicans working on a bill to introduce sanctions against countries that do business with Russia.

He said they could accept his proposal to add Iran to the sanctions list.

Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, both Republicans, have introduced the bill targeting countries that conduct business with Russia, including buyers of its energy resources.

When asked whether Trump was prepared to support the bill, the official replied: "He would sign it. He signaled that last night."

However, the White House will insist on specific wording to ensure that Trump retains control over the sanctions.

Quote: "It's always been important to the White House and the president that there's a carve-out in the sanctions package that ensures the president has the ultimate decision-making authority on the sanctions.

So as long as that is included, I think the president would entertain signing the bill."

Details: The official added that the White House continues talks with Russia on ending the war: "We're definitely still working it. It just hasn't been the centre of the news because we have so much going on."

Background:

• Trump recently stated that "a lot of progress" has been made regarding Russia's war against Ukraine.
• He also said he could bring the war to an end because Russia would like to "do business" with the United States.

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