The meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin did not take place. Among other things, after a failed phone call between Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his American counterpart Marco Rubio.
Lavrov is said to have said that Russia does not accept that they freeze the front line – Russia still wants to have lands it has not yet been able to conquer. Now the US is imposing new sanctions on Russia, because it “does not show any serious commitment to a peace process that can end the war in Ukraine,” the Treasury Department writes in a statement. statement .
The department describes the measures as a way to make it more difficult for Russia to generate revenue for its war machine through its energy sector.
"It's time to stop the killing and immediately begin a ceasefire," says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“As President Putin refuses to end this senseless war, the Department is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies that finance the Kremlin’s war machine,” he continues, adding that he is prepared to take further action – while urging all allies to follow the American example.
The UK imposed sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil a week ago, and the EU is expected to impose sanctions that include an import ban on liquefied natural gas.
Half of exports
The companies in question are Rosneft and Lukoil. Subsidiaries of the two giants are also subject to the sanctions.
State-controlled Rosneft, led by Putin's close ally Igor Sechin, and privately owned Lukoil together account for about half of Russia's total crude oil exports.
The decision is another U-turn for the Trump administration regarding Russia and Putin's war in Ukraine. However, a White House source tells Bloomberg that Trump “has always said he wants to make the move when the time is right.” Trump has repeatedly backed down from various deadlines he set for the Russian leader.
– Every time I talk to Vladimir, it's a good conversation, but then nothing happens. I felt like it was time now. We've been waiting a long time for this, says Donald Trump at a press conference.
