COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — All Russian banks should be blocked from the SWIFT international payment system and Russia should lose its trading status with the United States as part of efforts to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said Tuesday.
The U.S. should also seize assets tied to Russian oligarchs and President Vladimir Putin rather than just freezing them, and increase pressure on China to block Russia’s access to finances and reserves held by China, said Portman, an Ohio Republican and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The U.S. has the authority to strip Russia of its Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, Portman said, calling free trade with the U.S. a privilege, not a right.
“Invading a sovereign nation, an independent democracy no less, is certainly grounds to take that privilege away,” Portman said.
Portman also wants the U.S. to close airspace to Russian flights, stop buying Russian oil and gas, and increase the types of weapons being considered for Ukraine as part of a pending foreign aid measure.
