Trump, Treasury Secretary Threaten Increased Sanctions on Russia
President Donald Trump last week threatened to increase sanctions against Russia if it doesn't agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine and a peace deal. His comments came one day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also threatened more sanctions against Moscow, including its energy sector.
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"Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely 'pounding' Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED," Trump said in a March 7 post on Truth Social. "To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!"
One day earlier, Bessent said the Trump administration won’t “hesitate” to impose more sanctions against Russia as a tactic to gain more leverage during peace talks with Moscow.
Bessent, speaking at the Economic Club of New York, criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the Russia sanctions that it began imposing in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He said President Joe Biden’s “egregiously weak sanctions on Russian energy” were a “major factor that has enabled the Russian war machines’ continued financing.”
The Biden administration issued hundreds of Russia-related designations in its final days in office, including a January sanctions package that targeted major Russian oil producers and service providers, authorized sanctions against any person or entity with ties to Russia’s energy sector, and blocked the provision of U.S. petroleum services to parties in Russia (see 2501100027 and 2501150055).
Bessent called those sanctions a “craven political move” by former “national security adviser Jake Sullivan,” who “raised the Russian sanctions on the way out the door in January.” The Biden administration didn’t want to impose those sanctions beforehand because it was worried about “upward pressure on U.S. energy prices during an election season,” Bessent said, according to a video of his remarks posted by Bloomberg.
“What was the point of substantial U.S. military and financial support over the past three years without a commencement and fulsome sanctions support?” Bessent said.
He noted that the Trump administration has so far kept those sanctions, and it may even expand them.
“This administration has kept the enhanced sanctions in place and will not hesitate to go all-in should it provide leverage in peace negotiations,” Bessent said. “Per President Trump's guidance, sanctions will be used explicitly and aggressively for immediate maximum impact. They will be carefully monitored to ensure that they are achieving specific objectives.”