Future US Treasury Secretary Warns Russia of Tighter Sanctions

Investor Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary chosen by future US President Donald Trump (who will take office on January 20), has promised to support sanctions against Russia, especially against major oil companies, he said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

"If any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I am confirmed and if President Trump asks for it as part of his strategy to end the war in Ukraine, I would be 100% in favor of increasing sanctions, particularly on major Russian oil companies, to a level that would force the Russian Federation to the negotiating table ," Bessent said ( quoted by CNBC).

In his opinion, the sanctions imposed on Russia by the current Joe Biden administration were “not tough enough”. “I believe that the previous administration was concerned about rising energy prices in the US during the election season, and I am puzzled that the National Security Adviser [Jake] Sullivan, on his way out, is increasing the level of sanctions on Russian oil companies, and, indeed, oil prices are"U.S. oil prices are up about 9% this month. So what was good for that administration is being forced on us?" the Treasury nominee said (quoted by NBC).

BLOOMBERG reported on January 16 that Trump’s team is developing a sanctions strategy against Russia that would help bring about an agreement between Kiev and Moscow “in the coming months.” One approach involves possible “goodwill gestures” toward Russian oil producers if the new U.S. administration believes the conflict is nearing an end and that such a measure would help bring about a peace deal. The second approach would be to increase sanctions pressure to try to influence decision-making through restrictions.

Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has called sanctions and their possible lifting leverage in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The US expanded sanctions against Russia twice in January. On January 10, restrictions were imposed on the Russian energy sector, in particular, two of the four largest Russian oil producers (Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz), dozens of oil service companies, traders around the world trading Russian oil, and more than 180 vessels were included in the sanctions list. Washington considered these sanctions to be the “most significant” ever.

On January 15, the restrictions were expanded again. The list included more than a dozen individuals and a number of companies, including Chinese, Turkish and UAE ones. Among the Russian individuals subject to restrictions were, among others, JSC Voentorg, Zaporizhzhya NPP, Patriot exhibition center and the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), top managers of LUKOIL, Gazprom Neft, Tatneft and Rosatom.

The Kremlin said that before taking retaliatory measures, Russia would analyze the situation with US sanctions against the oil sector. "We are talking about taking measures that would minimize the consequences of these illegal measures and that would best serve the interests of our country, first and foremost, and our companies," said Dmitry Peskov , the Russian president's press secretary . He did not rule out that the US would respond with similar measures.

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