A former State Department official announced a plan to tighten sanctions against Russia.

US President Donald Trump's team is considering options for tightening sanctions against Russia, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, citing Daniel Fried, former State Department sanctions policy coordinator (2013 to 2017).

According to Fried, the US State Department and Treasury Department are working on strengthening the sanctions regime. "Now they think they have political cover to consider this option if Trump truly decides he's had enough of Putin," he explained.

The former official did not provide any further details regarding the possible tightening of restrictions. The State Department, the Treasury Department , and Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.

The Wall Street Journal reports that earlier this month, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) introduced  a bill that would impose sanctions on Russian oil exports unless it agrees to a long-term ceasefire with Ukraine. The White House requested a delay in considering the initiative to "preserve leverage during negotiations with Russia," sources in the Trump administration told the publication.

Graham noted that the bill was supported by more than 50 senators. The legislators expressed their opinions during a private dinner attended by Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian President's Special Representative for Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, and Steve Cohen, the US President's Special Envoy.Witkoff , writes the WSJ.

Kirill Dmitriev visited Washington on April 2 and 3, where he met with Whitkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The two discussed strengthening relations between Russia and the United States and ways to end the conflict in Ukraine. Dmitriev's visit marked the first trip by a high-ranking Russian official to Washington since the outbreak of hostilities in February 2022.

According to WSJ sources, several advisers and members of Trump's team, including Kellogg and Rubio, are trying to change the American president's views on relations with Russia. They are asking Trump to exercise more caution in his dealings with Moscow and to take a tougher stance.

The agency also wrote about the different approaches of members of Trump's team to relations with Russia.REUTERS . According to him, the question of whether to recognize Russian control over Ukraine's lost territories remains contentious for the presidential administration. Both Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly emphasized their unwillingness to make territorial concessions.

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