U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that further sanctions against Russia are forthcoming. This move seems to be a response to Russia’s lukewarm attitude towards ending the war with Ukraine, as Trump seeks to apply more pressure.
According to Reuters, on the 7th (local time), President Trump responded “Yes, we are ready” when asked by reporters at the White House if the U.S. was prepared to impose a second round of sanctions on Russia.
While he did not provide details on the methods of the second stage of sanctions against Russia, they could potentially involve direct tariffs on Russia as well as tariffs on other countries purchasing Russian products like oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Vest said in an NBC interview that day that if the U.S. and the European Union impose more sanctions and secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, it could collapse the Russian economy, eventually bringing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
At the end of the previous month, Trump had already imposed an additional 25% tariff on India, which buys Russian oil in large quantities, bringing the total reciprocal tariff to 50%.
Speaking on this occasion, Trump mentioned that “Russia has suffered losses amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. Yet, the second and third stages have not even been implemented yet.”
Meanwhile, Trump has been trying to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war but hasn’t achieved significant results. Last month, on the 15th, he met with President Putin in a U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska to push for a Russia-Ukraine summit with the aim of ending the war.
However, Russia increased its offensive against Ukraine, even attacking a government building in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which had been untouched since the start of the war, over the weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the need to prevent other countries from purchasing Russian oil, which funds Russia’s war efforts.
In an interview with ABC News published on the 7th, Zelensky stated, “To stop a murderer, you must take away his weapons,” adding, “Russian energy is his weapon.”
He further stressed the need for additional pressure on Putin, stating, “Pressure from the U.S. is needed,” and that “imports of Russian energy must be halted.”