The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has prepared additional sanctions that could be applied against key sectors of the Russian economy if dictator Vladimir Putin continues to prolong the end of the war, reports Reuters citing its sources, as noted by LETA referencing the BBC.
According to Reuters, U.S. officials have also informed their European counterparts about supporting the use of frozen Russian assets in European Union countries to purchase American weapons for Ukraine. Additionally, Washington has begun discussing the possibility of utilizing Russian assets located in the U.S. for military support to Kyiv, two sources in the U.S. administration reported.
It remains unclear whether Washington will take these steps in the near future; however, this indicates that the administration has a well-thought-out set of tools for further increasing pressure after the already imposed sanctions against the two largest Russian oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil, Reuters comments.
"European allies, weary of Trump's oscillation between reconciliation and anger towards Putin, hope that he will continue to ramp up pressure on Moscow, and they themselves are also considering serious measures," writes Reuters.
One U.S. official told the agency that he would like to see the next serious step from European partners, which could include additional sanctions or tariffs. Another source noted that Trump will likely take a pause for a few weeks to assess Russia's reaction to the sanctions announced on Wednesday.
Some of the new sanctions prepared by the U.S. may target the Russian banking sector and infrastructure related to oil supply to the market, sources indicated.
Last week, Ukrainian officials approached the U.S. with proposals for new sanctions, a source told the agency. Among the proposals were measures for a complete disconnection of all Russian banks from the dollar system. It remains unclear how seriously these proposals are being considered, the agency notes.
Leave a comment