US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said that the Russian economy will “fully collapse” if the Trump administration and European leaders impose more secondary sanctions on countries buying oil from Russia, adding that increased pressure could prompt President Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks with Ukraine.
In an interview to NBC News, Bessent said: “If the US and the (European Union) 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.”
He also said that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance had a productive call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who followed up with a call with him on Friday to discuss what the US and European Union could do pressurise Russia.
Bessent further emphasised that the Trump administration is ready to intensify its stance against Russia. The treasury secretary said the US is prepared to increase pressure on Russia, “but we need our European partners to follow us”.
US has levied steep tariffs on India and China for its purchases of Russian oil. While India has been slapped with 50 percent for buying Russian crude, China faces a staggering 145 percent charge. However, China’s tariff has been paused for 90 days.
Following the announcement of Trump’s tariffs, India criticised the Western policy, highlighting that several European nations also import Russian energy but are not subject to equivalent penalties.
“We need our European partners to follow us, because if the US and the EU do this together, we are in a race now between how long can the Ukrainian military hold up versus how long can the Russian economy hold up?” Bessent added, as quoted by Reuters.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Continues
Trump, who campaigned on promises to swiftly resolve the Ukraine conflict, has yet to halt the war despite re-entering the White House this January. Trump on Friday said that he is is “very disappointed” that India would be buying “so much” oil from Russia.
“We put a very big tariff on India, 50 per cent tariff, very high tariff. I get along very well with (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, he’s great. He was here a couple of months ago,” Trump said while responding to a question on whether he is ready to reset relations with India amid strained ties over tariffs.
Despite the Trump administration slamming India over its Russian oil purchases, India has maintained that the energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics and called the US traiffs “unjustified and unreasonable”.
Amid the ongoing diplomatic efforts, the Russia-Ukraine war saw a dramatic escalation on Sunday after the Russian forces launched attacks on government buildings housing Ukraine’s cabinet in central Kyiv, causing fires and resulting in at least three fatalities.
Ukraine retaliated swiftly, targeting Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline in the Bryansk region and expanding the conflict to include both government and critical energy infrastructure.
