WASHINGTON: The United States is preparing to impose a new round of sanctions on Russia following the abrupt cancellation of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
“We are going to announce either after the close this afternoon, or first thing tomorrow morning, a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions,” Bessent told reporters at the White House, referring to the US stock market’s close at 4 p.m. Eastern Time (2000 GMT).
While details of the measures were not immediately disclosed, the announcement marks a sharp escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Moscow amid renewed tensions over the war in Ukraine.
The move came a day after the White House confirmed that a second planned Trump-Putin meeting had been called off. Trump had earlier said the two leaders would meet “within two weeks,” but the reversal followed the Kremlin’s rejection of a US push for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump is scheduled to meet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte later Wednesday at the White House, where the conflict in Ukraine is expected to top the agenda.
