Donald Trump has enforced sanctions on the two biggest Russian oil companies following the conclusion that the Russian leader had not been truthful and direct in negotiations over Ukraine, America’s Treasury Secretary has said.
These restrictions against Rosneft and Lukoil followed just one day after a scheduled meeting between Trump and Putin in the Hungarian capital was shelved, with the US administration voicing its frustration at the absence of advances in peace talks with Moscow.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, the Treasury Department is sanctioning the two biggest Russian petroleum firms that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” America’s Treasury chief, the Secretary, said on Wednesday.
He cautioned that the Treasury Department was ready “to implement additional measures if necessary” to support Trump’s efforts to conclude the conflict.
Speaking to Fox Business prior to the formal statement, the Treasury Secretary remarked the action was “one of the largest sanctions that we have imposed against the Russian Federation”.
The President has held off on fresh restrictions for several months, explaining he aimed to convince Putin to make peace even amid rising irritation with him. But Trump’s tolerance seemed to expire in the six days after he talked to Putin by telephone the previous week.
EU nations also announced additional restrictions on Russia on Wednesday. These involve a prohibition on bringing in LNG from the country by the year 2027, the blacklisting of petroleum vessels used by Moscow and travel restrictions on Russian diplomats.
