India, July 2 -- US President Donald Trump has given nod to a Senate bill that could impose 500% tariffs on countries like China and India that buy Russian oil and energy products.

US senator Lindsey Graham said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that Trump had told him that the sanctions bill should be brought forward for a vote. Graham is sponsoring the tough new sanctions bill on Russia.

Graham called Trump's decision "a big breakthrough" which he said was part of efforts to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table on Ukraine and give Trump "a tool" to bring that about.

"Big breakthrough here. So what does this bill do? If you're buying products from Russia and you're not helping Ukraine, then there's a 5...