U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besent announced on Wednesday the imposition of sanctions against the two largest Russian oil companies — 'Rosneft' and 'Lukoil', citing the refusal of Russian President Vladimir Putin to 'end this senseless war' in Ukraine, reports LETA citing AFP.
U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to bring an end to this war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The sanctions were announced the day after the planned meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest was canceled — Washington expressed disappointment over the lack of progress in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow. On Wednesday, the European Union also agreed on new sanctions against Russia.
"Given Putin's refusal to end this senseless war, the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on the two largest Russian oil companies that finance the Kremlin's war machine," said Besent.
He warned that the department is prepared for "further actions, if necessary," to support Trump’s efforts to end the war.
In an interview with Fox Business before the official announcement, Besent noted that these are "some of the most extensive sanctions we have ever imposed against the Russian Federation."
Trump had delayed the imposition of new sanctions for several months, hoping to persuade Putin to make peace, but his dissatisfaction with the Kremlin's actions was growing.
Trump's patience ran out six days after a phone call with Putin last Thursday.
"President Putin did not come to the [negotiating] table honestly and openly, as we had hoped," Besent told Fox Business.
He reminded that during the meeting between Trump and Putin in August in Alaska, "President Trump left realizing that the negotiations were going nowhere."
"There were backdoor negotiations, but in my view, the president is disappointed with where we are now," added Besent.
The EU also reported on new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday. The nineteenth package of sanctions imposed against Russia since its renewed invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 includes a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia until 2027, the inclusion of even more tankers from the 'shadow fleet' in the blacklist, and restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats across Europe.
After the announcement of new sanctions, oil prices rose in electronic trading after the markets closed — the price of WTI oil in New York and Brent in London increased by more than 1%.
