Tougher sanctions planned as trump seeks Russia-Ukraine talks
The newly inaugurated President of the USA, Donald Trump, is preparing the groundwork for a future agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Even stricter sanctions are expected to be the leverage to persuade Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table.
On January 20, Donald Trump will officially begin his presidency. As he announced, he will strive for a quick end to the war in Ukraine, though this process may take many months.
Trump has a plan to persuade Vladimir Putin to negotiate with Ukraine. The leverage is sanctions. The strategy includes tightening secondary sanctions against those who continue to buy Russian oil. Additionally, Bloomberg reports that the USA may intensify inspections of ships carrying Russian oil through the Danish or Turkish straits.
The newspaper suggests that certain concessions on sanctions could be made if Russia decides to negotiate. Trump's advisors are already developing a comprehensive sanctions strategy to facilitate a diplomatic agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump's team is preparing an oil sanctions plan
If the president's strategy requires it, I am 100 percent prepared to increase sanctions, including against Russian oil giants, said Scott Bessent, nominated by Donald Trump as the future head of the Treasury Department, on Thursday at 11:00 AM Eastern Time in the Senate. He also supported maintaining the Federal Reserve's independence.
Bessent discussed sanctions against Russia during a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, which was part of confirming him for the new position.
I think if any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I'm confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, that I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up --especially on the Russian oil majors -- to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table, declared the financier.
Bessent assessed that previous sanctions were not strict enough. Still, he admitted he was surprised that the outgoing administration imposed restrictions on the Russian oil sector only just before the end of its term. Thus, the issue of approximately 9 percent higher oil prices was left to their successors.
