WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has brushed aside Russian President Vladimir Putin’s downplaying of new American sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil firms, saying the real economic impact will become clear in “six months.”
“I’m glad he feels that way,” Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House. “That’s good. I’ll let you know about it in six months from now. Okay, let’s see. Let’s see how it all works out.”
The sanctions, targeting Rosneft and Lukoil, were imposed over what Washington called Russia’s failure to show “serious commitment” to ending the war in Ukraine. The move comes amid heightened tensions after Trump postponed a planned second summit with Putin, following the Kremlin’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire proposal.
According to the Anadolu news agency, Putin described the sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil as an “unfriendly act” earlier on Thursday, but downplayed the toll the action would have on the Russian economy. “They are serious in nature and will have certain consequences, but they will not have a significant impact on the health of our economy,” he said.
The US imposed the sanctions on Wednesday due to what it said was Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment” to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine. The Treasury Department said in a statement that the measures target Russia’s energy sector to “degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine” and “support its weakened economy.”
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the statement. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.
Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war,” said Bessent. The announcement came just one day after a White House official confirmed that a second planned meeting between Trump and Putin was put on hold. Trump said on Oct. 16 that the meeting would take place within two weeks, and while the cause for the about-face was not immediately known, it came in the wake of the Kremlin’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine sought by the US president.
