WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Oct 22) imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the primary time in his second time period, focusing on oil firms Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war.
The US Treasury Division mentioned it was ready to take additional motion because it known as on Moscow to agree instantly to a ceasefire in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to finish this mindless conflict, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil firms that fund the Kremlin’s conflict machine,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned in an announcement. “We encourage our allies to hitch us in and cling to those sanctions.”
Bessent’s feedback got here because the European Union authorized its 19th package of sanctions on Russia, together with a phased ban on Russian liquefied pure gasoline imports and restrictions on oil tankers and diplomats.
The sanctions are a serious coverage shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the conflict and as a substitute relied on commerce measures. Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for its buying discounted Russian oil.
The US has not imposed the tariffs on China, one other main purchaser of Russian oil. A US$60 value cap on Russian oil imposed by Western international locations after Russia’s invasion has shifted Russia’s oil clients in recent times from Europe to Asia.
Trump instructed reporters within the Oval Workplace on Wednesday that he had cancelled a planned summit in Hungary with Putin as a result of it didn’t really feel prefer it was the suitable time.
