US Senator's Russia sanctions bill targets India over its economic ties

India's economic ties with Russia are in the spotlight again after influential US Senator Lindsey Graham publicly pushed for a new sanctions bill that will also target countries that do business with Moscow.

- Shashank Mattoo

NEW DELHI: "I've got 84 co-sponsors for a Russian sanctions bill that is an economic bunker buster against China, India, and Russia for Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. I think that bill's going to pass," Graham said in a television interview on Sunday.

Graham was referring to the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which was introduced in the US Senate in April this year. The bill proposes steep American tariffs on goods and services exports from countries that purchase Russian-origin oil, natural gas, uranium and petroleum products. It also pushes for expanded sanctions against Russian businesses, government institutions and top policymakers.