United States Enforces Restrictions on Russian Oil Over Putin’s Unwillingness to End War in Ukraine
The US President has imposed restrictions on the two biggest Russian petroleum firms following the conclusion that the Russian leader had not been “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks, the US treasury chief stated.
These restrictions targeting Rosneft and Lukoil followed just one day after a scheduled meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest got postponed, with Washington voicing its frustration at the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Russia.
“Due to Putin’s unwillingness to stop this needless conflict, [the] treasury is sanctioning the two biggest Russian petroleum firms that finance Russia’s military operations,” the US treasury secretary, the Secretary, announced this week.
He cautioned that the Treasury Department was prepared “to implement additional measures should it be needed” to back the President’s initiatives to end the war.
Speaking to Fox Business before the official announcement, the Treasury Secretary said the move was “one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation”.
Trump has held off on new sanctions for several months, saying he aimed to convince the Russian President to make peace despite growing frustration with him. But the president’s patience apparently ran out in the six days since he spoke to Putin over the phone last Thursday.
EU nations also announced new sanctions on Russia on Wednesday. These involve a ban on importing LNG from the country by the year 2027, the blacklisting of oil tankers used by Moscow and travel curbs on Russian diplomats.
