US prepares new sanctions against Russia as Trump's office slams Biden's soft stance on Putin
Photo: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant (Getty Images)
The United States of America and Europe will decisively strengthen sanctions against Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to engage in peace negotiations with Ukraine in a spirit of goodwill, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant says in an interview to CBS News.
According to Bessant, US President Donald Trump made this very clear. However, at the moment, it is necessary to wait and see what happens when both sides, Ukraine and Russia, sit down at the negotiating table.
At the same time, Bessent acknowledged that previous US sanctions against Russia have proven to be largely ineffective.
"What I can tell you is that the sanctions were very ineffective during the Biden administration because they kept them low, because they were afraid of pushing up domestic oil prices," the US Treasury Secretary said.
However, Bessent did not specify the timeline for possible sanction expansion, so as not to tie Trump's hands ahead of negotiations with Putin.
Peace talks on Ukraine
Last Friday, Ukraine-Russia talks on ending the war took place in Istanbul. The initiative came from Putin as a response to a proposal from Ukraine, the EU, and the US for a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he was ready for direct talks with Putin. However, Putin did not respond and instead sent a delegation significantly lower in diplomatic rank.
The talks in Istanbul lasted about an hour and yielded almost no results. The Russians demanded recognition of four regions and Crimea as Russian territory, Ukraine's neutral status, a refusal to seek reparations from Russia, and protection of Russian-speaking citizens under European standards.
The only agreement reached between the sides was to conduct a prisoner exchange in a 1,000-for-1,000 format.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated that he will move forward with sanctions against Russia if negotiations with Ukraine fail. In his view, the sanctions would be devastating for Russia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stated that Washington had given Moscow time to make progress in peace talks, but patience is running out - a sanctions decision is already underway.
