US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday warned that Washington is willing to take firm action on Russia over its war on Ukraine. The Donald Trump aide’s comments come after talks with the EU sanctions envoy Monday.
Over Monday and Tuesday, US officials and their European Union are holding meetings to step up the sanctions targeting Russia, which has not backed out of the Ukraine war, an EU official said.
“The United States and European Union are aligned on the importance of ending the war in Ukraine, and all options remain on the table as part of @POTUS’ strategy to support peace negotiations,” Scott Bessent wrote on X.
EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan has been spearheading the group of nations’ global outreach on preventing Moscow’s evasion of sanctions. He is leading the delegation in US.
Scott Bessent said that the US is willing to take measures against Russia as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to support peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
“Business as usual has not worked. We are willing to take strong measures against Russia, but our European partners must fully join us in this to be successful. I made this clear today when meeting with @EU_Commission Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan,” he said.
He also reiterated that the United States and EU are aligned on the importance of ending war in Ukraine.
US-EU meeting over Russia’s war on Ukraine
According to a report by AFP quoting a source, Monday’s meeting lasted less than two hours and covered potential economic sanctions and tariff actions.
Officials including from Treasury Department, White House, State Department and US Trade Representative’s office joined the meeting as part of the US delegation, the report said.
Bessent was joined by Treasury Undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence John Hurley.
Earlier on Monday, Scott Bessent told NBC News’s Meet The Press that US needs EU’s support to increase sanctions on Russia.
“We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us,” he said.
Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to impose more sanctions on Russia, after the Kremlin unleashed its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine.
Trump has threatened to penalize countries that buy Russian oil, seeking to cut off a key revenue source for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s war. But so far, he has only hit India with so-called secondary sanctions with a total of 50% US tariffs.
