Russia sanctions: Trump weighs in, Bessent calls for increasing economic pressure

[U.S. President Trump And Russian President Putin Meet On War In Ukraine At U.S. Air Base In Alaska]
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images News

President Donald Trump said he is prepared to impose more sanctions on Russia amid a lack of progress towards peace in Ukraine, but he stopped short of providing any details.

When asked by a reporter on Sunday if he was ready to move to the "second phase of sanctions" against Russia, Trump replied [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc5b7yrHd2U], "Yeah, I am."

At a separate press gaggle, Trump said [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIY0EU76sMU&t=1s] he previously thought the war would've been the easiest for him to settle because of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It's not turned out that way, but we're going to get it settled."

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said ramping up economic pressure on Russia would force Putin to join peace negotiations.

"We are in a race now between how long can the Ukrainian military hold up versus how long can the Russian economy hold up," he told _NBC News_. "And if the U.S. 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 total collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table."

Bessent added [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/treasury-secretary-us-eu-collapse-russian-economy-tariffs-bessent-rcna229616] that the U.S. is prepared to increase pressure on Russia, "but we need our European partners to follow us."

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