US Sanctions Against Russia Are ‘Pretty Hefty’: White House | World News

The White House said that new sanctions against Russia would put “a lot” of pressure on Moscow, suggesting that US President Donald Trump may eventually decide to increase the measures.

“If you read the sanctions and look at them, they’re pretty heavy,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Thursday, referring to reports that China and India, the biggest buyers of Russian oil, are reducing their purchases.

“Of course there is a full-court press and we expect these sanctions to cause harm,” he added.

The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, calling on Moscow for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

Asked whether additional sanctions would follow, Leavitt left the door open.

“I’ll leave it to the President (Trump) to decide that,” he said.

Leavitt told CNN on Thursday that President Trump decided to announce new sanctions on Russia and cancel a planned meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin because he “didn’t see enough interest” from Russia in “moving the ball forward toward peace.”

“The President has always maintained that he will impose sanctions on Russia when he thinks it is appropriate and necessary, and yesterday was that day,” he told CNN.

“I think the President has long expressed his frustration with Vladimir Putin and frankly with both sides of this war, and he’s always said that in order to negotiate a good peace agreement, both sides need to be interested in a good peace agreement,” Leavitt said. he said.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he had “cancelled” the Putin meeting, adding: “I didn’t feel like we were going to get where we needed to go, so I canceled it, but we will do it in the future.”

Leavitt added Thursday: “And a meeting between these two leaders isn’t completely off the table — I think the President and the entire administration hopes it could happen again someday — but we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome from this meeting and that it’s a good use of the President’s time.”

Pressed on whether the meeting between Trump and Putin would be canceled after the meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday revealed “different expectations” between the two leaders, Leavitt said there were other factors at play.

“That wasn’t the only reason, no,” he told CNN.

“I think Secretary Rubio actually thinks this is a productive call, but the President wants to make sure that a meeting between him and President Putin would be a good use at this time.”

Earlier on Thursday, the European Union announced a 19th round of sanctions against Russia, targeting sectors such as energy, finance and the military.

The bloc joins US President Trump in imposing financial penalties on Moscow.