A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday urged President Trump to reverse his decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports, warning that the agreement would do little to lower energy costs for Americans and would provide President Vladimir V. Putin with a financial lifeline to continue his war in Ukraine.
“This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies,” the senators, including six Democrats and six Republicans, wrote in a letter to Mr. Trump, adding that the agreement would “not achieve just ends, nor will it benefit Americans.”
The letter, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, came just weeks after Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation intended to increase economic pressure on Moscow and its allies.
The Republican signatories included Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, John Cornyn of Texas and Alan Armstrong of Oklahoma. Most of those Republicans have spoken out against Mr. Trump on various issues in recent years. They joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Chris Coons of Delaware and Mr. Blumenthal, all Democrats.
The lawmakers argued that allowing Russian diesel back into global markets would have a negligible effect on fuel prices, even as the administration seeks to ease energy disruptions stemming from the war with Iran. Instead, they warned, the revenue would benefit Russia and “undoubtedly finance its desired war of attrition and advance its security cooperation with China, Iran and North Korea.”
The letter also highlighted divisions among Republicans over how aggressively to confront Moscow. Notably absent from the signatories was Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina, who championed the Russia and Iran sanctions legislation that Mr. Trump signed into law last month. Her brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, had been the leading proponent of the legislation before his death in July.
Also missing were Senator Katie Britt, Republican of Alabama, who has sought to play a more forceful role on national security issues, including Ukraine and Russia policy; and Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee and a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Mr. Wicker was meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Kyiv around the time Mr. Trump announced the agreement on Friday.
In a statement to Alabama Daily News on Monday, Ms. Britt expressed support for continuing to “apply maximum pressure on Russia to end its unlawful war against Ukraine.” But she has not gone as far as some of her G.O.P. colleagues in denouncing the president’s move.
The absence of Ms. Britt, Ms. Graham and Mr. Wicker from the letter was particularly notable given its explicit appeal to the sanctions law, which the senators said was intended to strengthen Mr. Trump’s negotiating position by increasing economic pressure on Russia and countries helping sustain Moscow’s war.
“Putin is a tyrant,” the lawmakers wrote, urging Mr. Trump to reverse the move and exercise the sanctions authorities that Congress had recently granted him.
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