US Imposes Restrictions on Russian Petroleum Over Putin’s Refusal to Cease War in the Region
Donald Trump has enforced restrictions on Russia’s two largest oil companies following the conclusion that the Russian leader was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, America’s Treasury Secretary has said.
These restrictions targeting Rosneft and Lukoil came a day after a scheduled meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest got postponed, with the US administration expressing its disappointment at the absence of advances in ceasefire negotiations with Russia.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, [the] treasury is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced this week.
He warned that the Treasury was ready “to take further action should it be needed” to support Trump’s efforts to conclude the conflict.
In an interview with a business news network before the official announcement, the Treasury Secretary said the move was “among the biggest restrictions that we have done on Russia”.
Trump has held off on new sanctions for several months, saying he aimed to convince the Russian President to make peace even amid rising irritation with him. But the president’s patience seemed to expire in the six days since he spoke to the Russian leader over the phone last Thursday.
EU nations similarly declared new sanctions on the Russian government on the same day. They include a ban on importing liquefied natural gas from Russia by 2027, the blacklisting of oil tankers operated by Russia and travel curbs on Russian diplomats.
