Senator Graham and former Russian president trade public barbs after Russian threats to US
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, co-author of a bill introducing new sanctions against Russia, has responded to threats from Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, who spoke of a "war" between Moscow and Washington.
Graham addressed this threat in a post on X (Twitter)
On Monday 28 July, Medvedev claimed that Trump was "playing the ultimatum game with Russia". He added that "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war", not with Ukraine, but with "his own country".
In response, Graham addressed "those in Russia who believe that President Trump is not serious about ending the bloodbath between Russia and Ukraine".
"You and your customers will soon be sadly mistaken. You will also soon see that Joe Biden is no longer president. Get to the peace table," he wrote.
The mention of former US President Biden came as Medvedev had earlier urged Americans not to "go down the Sleepy Joe road" – a nickname political opponents often use to refer to Biden.
Under Graham’s post, Medvedev replied that neither the senator nor Trump could dictate when Russia would negotiate.
"Negotiations will end when all the objectives of our military operation have been achieved. Work on America first, gramps!" he wrote.
On 28 July, Trump expressed his disappointment with Putin and promised to shorten the previously set 50-day deadline for achieving peace in Ukraine.
Trump said the new deadline would be "about 10 or 12 days from today".
Earlier, Medvedev made it clear that the Moscow leadership does not care about Trump's ultimatums.