Trump ready for next phase of sanctions against Russia

Blitz Bureau

NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump has signaled his readiness to escalate sanctions against Russia amid continued Russian defiance over the Ukraine war, but he did not specify what those measures would be as he confronts Moscow’s intransigence in ending the conflict. Asked by a reporter in Washington if he was ready to move the second phase of sanctions, he said, “Yeah, I am”.

The terse reply gave no inkling of what – or who — he had in mind, but when a reporter asked him in mid-August about China, which had been spared punitive tariffs for buying Russian oil, he said, “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something might have to “in two or three weeks.” Earlier, he had singled out India for the oil sanctions and imposed a 25 per cent punitive tariff. It’s been more than three weeks since Trump had his summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for his peace diplomacy to end the Ukraine War.

Although he pitched high hopes, a meeting between Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has yet to take place, and Russia has increased its attacks on that country. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said that following the heightened Russian attacks, “I’m sure that there’s going to be a lot of talk about the level of sanctions and the timing of sanctions”. Asked by a CBS News interviewer about the timing of any new sanctions, he said, “It’s up to the president in the end. But yes, it’s a very disappointing set of affairs”.

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