WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Oct 22) imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war.
The US Treasury Department said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
Bessent’s comments came as the European Union approved its 19th package of sanctions on Russia, including a phased ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports and restrictions on oil tankers and diplomats.
The sanctions are a major policy shift for Trump, who had not put sanctions on Russia over the war and instead relied on trade measures. Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariffs on goods from India in retaliation for its purchasing discounted Russian oil.
The US has not imposed the tariffs on China, another major buyer of Russian oil. A US$60 price cap on Russian oil imposed by Western countries after Russia’s invasion has shifted Russia’s oil customers in recent years from Europe to Asia.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he had cancelled a planned summit in Hungary with Putin because it did not feel like it was the right time.
