US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday called for the Trump administration and Europe to exert additional economic pressure on Russia, saying it could force President Vladimir Putin to go ahead with peace talks with Ukraine.
Bessent, who recently called India and China “bad actors” over their continued purchase of Russian oil, accusing them of supporting its war in Ukraine, called for more sanctions and secondary tariffs on countries doing trade with Moscow.
“If the US and the (European Union) can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in full collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table,” news agency Reuters quoted Bessent as saying on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Bessent said the Trump administration was “prepared to increase pressure on Russia”.
While India has been subjected to steep 50 per cent tariffs by the US for buying Russian crude, China was slapped with a staggering 145 per cent levy but that was put on hold for 90 days.
However, India called out the West’s hypocrisy, saying several European countries too buy large amounts of Russian enegy, but they have escaped similar treatment.
– Ends
