Trump praised Putin for fighting sanctions and called him a professional.

President Vladimir Putin has successfully fought restrictions against Russia, and new ones may be introduced, stated US President Donald Trump. Footage of his responses to journalists was published in the H.

"You know, he was able to deal with sanctions. <...> He's a professional," Trump said.

According to him, Putin understands that sanctions against Russia may follow, and they will be "binding." Trump also added that he discussed the restrictions with him—the last time the two politicians spoke by phone was on July 3, their sixth conversation since the Republican returned to the White House.

In late June, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that Trump, when speaking about new sanctions against Russia, considered it necessary to move forward with legislation to that effect. Graham noted that this was the first time the president had said such a thing to him.

The senator is the author of a sanctions bill that would impose a 500% tariff on goods shipped to the United States if a country purchases products from Russia and fails to assist Ukraine . He named India and China among the countries that could be targeted by this measure , as they support Russia by purchasing hydrocarbons from it. According to Graham, the bill could be passed in the Senate in the first half of July; it has sufficient support (84 members). The decision to impose sanctions will rest with Trump.

Following the senator's statement, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Graham's position is known worldwide; he "belongs to a group of inveterate Russophobes." "If it were up to him, these sanctions would have been imposed long ago," Peskov noted. Those initiating the restrictions should ask themselves whether the measures are helping to resolve the situation, he added.

Czech President Petr Pavel later revealed that at a closed dinner at the NATO summit in late June, European leaders pressed the US president to take a tougher stance on Russia, but he showed restraint.

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