Escalating conflict in Ukraine, Trump considers imposing additional penalties on Russia
In a bid to resolve the ongoing Ukraine conflict, U.S. President Donald Trump's diplomatic efforts have so far been unsuccessful. As a result, the focus has shifted towards economic pressure on Russia.
On Monday, a scheduled meeting is set to take place in Washington, where U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with European officials led by EU sanctions coordinator David O'Sullivan. The discussion will centre around potential new sanctions against Russia.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Russia's trading partners at a rate of around 100 percent, but so far, only India has been targeted with additional 25 percent tariffs due to its oil trade with Russia. The U.S. has also imposed these additional tariffs on Indian products.
Trump has criticised European countries for their oil trade with Russia, claiming it finances Russia's war against Ukraine. He has urged Europeans to put pressure on China in regards to its oil trade with Russia as well.
The U.S. views sanctions as a means to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin and achieve a peaceful resolution in the Ukraine conflict. However, the U.S. needs the support of its European partners to increase the pressure on Russia effectively.
In 2022, the EU imposed wide-ranging import bans on Russian energy carriers such as coal and oil following Moscow's attack on Ukraine. However, these bans do not extend to crude oil transported via pipelines.
So far, India is the only trading partner of Russia that the U.S. has targeted with tariffs in the context of the Ukraine conflict. The Russian Druzhba oil pipeline continues to transport oil towards Hungary and Slovakia.
Putin has been accused of delaying a direct meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The U.S. and its European allies are hopeful that the upcoming discussions will lead to a more unified stance against Russia and bring about a resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
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