WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) today made this joint statement on their visit to Paris, France. 

“Congratulations to Paris Saint-Germain for winning the Champions league and making history. We learned firsthand that the French are good at soccer and have amazing endurance when it comes to celebrating. Also during our time in Paris, we had worthwhile meetings with France’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance and President Macron’s national security advisor, and a lengthy and productive phone call with President Macron. 

“As authors of the bone-crushing Russia sanctions bill that now has 82 Senate cosponsors, we assured President Macron and his team that we believe Putin is playing games regarding peace and is actually preparing for a military offensive in the late summer or early fall. 

“President Macron shares the view that Putin’s behavior demonstrates that he is not interested in peace. Macron is also very determined to unite Europe, working in coordination with the U.S., to change the calculation for Putin. Importantly, we all agreed that if China and India stopped buying cheap Russian oil, Putin’s war machine would grind to a halt. 

“President Macron supports lowering the price cap for Russian oil, which will hit Putin in the wallet, and working with his team, he committed to try to deliver a forceful message to China and India regarding their financial backing of Putin’s war. It is our hope that Europe will move forward together on lowering the price caps, and join together to send a clear message to China and India that they must change their behavior. 

“Europe and the United States are holding all the cards and can make meaningful efforts to change China and India’s behavior. 

“We are also hopeful Europe will up their game regarding the seizure of frozen assets of those who are benefiting off of Putin’s illegal invasion. President Macron was very open to that idea. 

“We also discussed Russia’s kidnapping of approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children over the course of the war.  President Macron has been a clear, moral voice against this barbaric kidnapping and other Russian atrocities. 

“France has been terrific in supporting Ukraine. In many ways, this has been President Macron’s finest hour. 

“We will be pushing the Senate to take action by using the expedited Rule 14 process to bring the sanctions bill to the floor. By the G7 summit, we hope to have sanctions put in place --  in coordination with Europe --  to deliver an unequivocal message to China. 

“The theme of this engagement was that we appreciate President Trump’s earnest efforts to bring about peace and entice Putin to come to the table. It is our view Putin is not responding in kind, he is not interested in peace and that he plans to continue to dismember Ukraine. We appreciate that President Zelensky will send a delegation to Istanbul, which is a clear sign that he is earnestly seeking peace. Unfortunately, we believe Monday’s meeting will result in another demand by Russia that will be unrealistic. 

“An end of the war that rewards Putin’s aggression will create a ripple effect around the world, which will be catastrophic in every corner. Bad actors will be emboldened, and those who want to align with the West will be deterred.

“If we can have a just and honorable peace, it will reset the world in all the right ways. History is watching.”

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