Trump ready for ‘phase two’ of Russia sanctions over war in Ukraine
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US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters before departing in Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House on Sept 7.
PHOTO: EPA
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Sept 7 that he is ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia – the closest he has come to suggesting he is on the verge of ramping up sanctions against Moscow or its oil buyers over the war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened Moscow with further sanctions but withheld them as he pursued peace talks.
The latest comments suggest an increasingly aggressive posture, but he stopped short of saying he was committed to such a decision or what a second phase might entail.
Asked by a reporter at the White House if he is ready to move to “the second phase” of sanctions against Russia, Mr Trump responded, “Yeah, I am.”
He did not elaborate.
The US President has been frustrated by his inability to bring a halt to the fighting, after he initially predicted he would be able to end the war in Ukraine swiftly when he took office in January.
The White House did not immediately respond to an e-mail on Sept 7 seeking comment about what steps Mr Trump was contemplating.
The exchange was a follow-up to his comments on Sept 3 defending the actions he had already taken on Russia, including imposing punitive tariffs on India’s US-bound exports
India is a major buyer of Russia’s energy exports, while Western buyers have cut back in response to the war.
“That cost hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia,” Mr Trump said on Sept 3. “You call that no action? And I haven’t done phase two yet, or phase three.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sept 7 that the US and the European Union could heap “secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil”, pushing the Russian economy to the brink of collapse
China is a major buyer of Russian energy exports. REUTERS
