Much in the style of an Apple CEO introducing a new iPhone, Chief EU Diplomat Kaja Kallas told Die Welt that the sanctions against Russia that she proposes this fall will be the most comprehensive since the war began. Reuters and ČTK picked it up and quoted her as saying that the existing EU sanctions have cost the Russian war machine more than €1 trillion. Not mentioned by the news agencies was why Kallas is so hopeful this time. Passage in the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7 of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, she said, offers hope that Europe and the U.S. will draw closer together on the issue of sanctions. Graham's bill, as we wrote in mid-July, is designed to punish countries that are major purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas and has the unstated goal of making sure Europe doesn't get second thoughts about cutting itself off from Russian energy. Despite Kallas's enthusiasm, it's still not entirely clear whether Graham's bill will do more damage to the Russian war machine or to Europe's. [ European Union United States ]
Glossary of difficult words
to pick up (a story) - to take a published report and to expand or modify it for a different audience.