Thune threatens Putin with sanctions on Russia

• "If Russia is not willing to engage in serious diplomacy, the Senate will work with the Trump administration to consider additional sanctions to force Putin to start negotiating," Thune said Thursday.
• This comes the same week Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned senators in a hearing that if "you start threatening sanctions, the Russians will stop talking."
• "I think it's a next week horizon," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told Axios about the timing of a sanctions bill. "We need to make it very clear to Vladimir Putin that we're going to increase the pressure on Russia to get them to the table to resolve the war in Ukraine.

Zoom in: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have a bill, with 80 cosponsors, that would hit Russia with more economic sanctions if Putin refuses good faith negotiations with Ukraine or launches another attack after any peace deal is reached.

• The bill also would set a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil.

Zoom out: Thune has previously indicating he was ready to move, but would wait for the signal from the White House.

• Some Republican senators have been urging more immediate action against Putin.
• "I've waited long enough," Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) told Semafor's Burgess Everett, adding, "And it's pretty clear to me that Putin has been jerking us around for months."