A U.S. delegation and European officials gathered on the Treasury Department on Monday evening for discussions about new sanctions on the Russian Federation, with a focus on tariffs on Russian oil, and the $300 billion worth of frozen Russian sovereign assets, primarily held in European financial institutions, as reported by a U.S. official with knowledge of the meeting. The meeting lasted roughly two hours, and it included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, officials from the White House and State Department, and European officials from their countries’ energy, sanctions, and trade portfolios.
The Biden administration’s predecessor has been trying to create economic pressure to bring Moscow to negotiate. Trump has also told European allies that Washington wants “full cooperation” on whatever plans of action materializes. While Russia is earning an estimated $15–18 billion a month from oil (despite G7 price cap of $60 a barrel), since China, India, and Turkey are taking discounted shipments, President Trump would have liked implement tariffs, instead of outright bans on Russian oil. Tariffs would squeeze Russia’s revenues while keeping the energy situation under control.
The discussions also touched upon how to coordinate the enforcement of sanctions, to limit loopholes and to render ineffective the shadow fleets and intermediaries outside of the UAE and Central Asia. The EU members represent a split where Polish and Baltic states are pursuing stricter sanctions while Hungary is concerned with retaliation on energy.
The meeting comes in response to Trump’s August deadline for Russia to stop its invasion, which has not yet yielded results. Even after meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month, there has been no progress. Trump is expected to speak directly with Putin in the next few days, even as conference officials work to set another meeting on Tuesday.
