Trump indicates readiness for next phase of sanctions against Russia

With tensions in Eastern Europe grinding on and Moscow showing little sign of retreat, US President Donald Trump has once again rattled the sabre of economic pressure, hinting at harsher sanctions against Russia but leaving the world guessing about their form and fury.

Asked by reporters in Washington on Sunday, 7 September, if he was prepared to move into a “second phase” of sanctions, Trump replied tersely: “Yeah, I am.” He gave no hint of targets or timing.

In mid-August, when pressed on why China had not faced penalties for buying Russian oil, Trump said only, “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks.” India, however, was singled out, with Trump imposing a 25 per cent punitive tariff on its Russian oil imports.

More than three weeks after Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hopes for a peace breakthrough have dimmed. A planned meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not materialised, while Russia has intensified its attacks.

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett acknowledged that sanctions are under active discussion, telling reporters, “I’m sure that there’s going to be a lot of talk today and tomorrow about the level of sanctions and the timing of sanctions.”

He added on CBS News, “It’s up to the president in the end. But yes, it’s a very disappointing set of affairs.”

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent floated the idea of tightening sanctions on Russian oil by pressing the European Union (EU) to join the US in enforcing secondary penalties on countries that buy from Moscow. But the EU continues to import Russian gas directly — and indirectly, through Indian products refined from Russian crude — raising questions about whether it would target India while maintaining its own purchases.

“If the US and the EU 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,” Bessent told NBC. “We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us.”

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, accused European states of double standards. “They continue to buy oil and Russian gas. And this is not fair. If to be open and to be clear, it’s not fair,” he said in an ABC interview. He defended Trump’s tariffs on India as “the right idea.”

Asked whether those sanctions had backfired following Trump’s Truth Social post lamenting that “we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China” after a trilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Zelenskyy was firm: “No. I think the idea to put tariffs on the countries who continue to make deals with Russia, I think this is right idea.”

With IANS inputs