US Imposes Sanctions on Russian Oil Over Putin’s Unwillingness to End War in Ukraine
The US President has imposed sanctions on the two biggest Russian petroleum firms following the conclusion that the Russian leader was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief has said.
These restrictions targeting Rosneft and Lukoil came a day after a planned Trump-Putin summit in the Hungarian capital got postponed, with the US administration voicing its frustration at the absence of advances in peace talks with Moscow.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to stop this needless conflict, [the] treasury is sanctioning the two biggest Russian petroleum firms that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” the US treasury secretary, the Secretary, announced this week.
He cautioned that the Treasury Department was ready “to implement additional measures if necessary” to back the President’s initiatives to conclude the conflict.
Speaking to a business news network before the official announcement, the Treasury Secretary said the move was “one of the largest sanctions that we have imposed on Russia”.
Trump has held off on fresh restrictions for months, explaining he hoped to persuade the Russian President to make peace even amid rising irritation with him. But Trump’s tolerance apparently ran out in the six days since he spoke to the Russian leader over the phone last Thursday.
The European Union similarly declared new sanctions on the Russian government on the same day. These involve a prohibition on bringing in liquefied natural gas from the country by the year 2027, the blacklisting of petroleum vessels used by Moscow and travel curbs on Russian diplomats.
