A new set of sanctions against Russia will apply “a lot” of pressure on Moscow, the White House said, suggesting US President Donald Trump could eventually decide to ramp up the measures.
“If you read the sanctions and look at them, they’re pretty hefty,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday at a briefing, citing reports that China and India — the largest buyers of Russian oil — were scaling back their purchases.
“It’s full court press for sure, and we expect that these sanctions are going to do harm,” she added.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies as it called on Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
Asked whether additional sanctions could come down the line, Leavitt left the door open.
“I’ll leave that to the President (Trump) to decide,” she said.
Leavitt told CNN on Thursday that President Trump decided to announce new Russia sanctions and call off a planned meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin because he had “not seen enough interest” in “moving the ball forward towards peace” from the Russian side.
“The President has always maintained that he would implement sanctions on Russia when he felt it was appropriate and necessary — and yesterday was that day,” she told CNN.
“I think the President has also long expressed his frustration with Vladimir Putin, and frankly, both sides of this war, and he’s always said in order to negotiate a good peace deal, both sides need to be interested in a good peace deal,” Leavitt said.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he had “cancelled” the Putin meeting, adding, “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get — so I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
Leavitt added on Thursday: “And so, a meeting between these two leaders is not completely off the table — I think the President and the entire administration hopes that one day that can happen again — but we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting, and that it’s a good use of the President’s time.”
Pressed on if the meeting was cancelled between Trump and Putin after a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday revealed “divergent expectations” between the two leaders, Leavitt said there were other factors at play.
“That was not the sole reason, no,” she told CNN.
“I think the Secretary Rubio felt that was actually a productive call, but again, the President wants to make sure that a meeting between himself and President Putin will be a good use at this time.”
Earlier on Thursday, the European Union announced a 19th round of sanctions against Russia, which targets sectors including energy, finance, and the military.
The bloc joins US President Trump in its financial penalties against Moscow.
