Trump Will Enforce Russia Sanctions, US NATO Envoy Says
US President Donald Trump will follow through and enforce harsh new oil sanctions on Russia to pressure Vladimir Putin into negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the US ambassador to NATO said.
“We have implemented those sanctions. We plan to enforce them,” Matthew Whitaker, the US permanent representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance said in an interview on Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.
Last week, the US Treasury Department blacklisted state-run oil giants Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC, Russia’s biggest oil producers — as part of a fresh bid to end the war in Ukraine by depriving Moscow of revenues to fund the war. It was the first major package of financial sanctions on Russia since Trump took office.
“This will maybe be the thing to unlock President Putin coming to the table and ending this war, and at least entering into a ceasefire so we can negotiate a final resolution,” Whitaker said.
Crude prices jumped after the sanctions announcement, but market reaction has been muted amid confusion over just how seriously the White House would enforce the new measures on Russia, which has been targeted by heavy sanctions since the early days of the war.
According to Whitaker, however, this is just the beginning.
“President Trump holds all the cards, this is just one card that he’s playing,” he said. “There are many more.”
Source : Bloomberg.com
