US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday warned that Russia's economy would 'collapse' and bring President Vladimir Putin to the table if Washington and the European Union impose more secondary sanctions on countries that buy crude oil from Moscow.
Will bring President Putin to the table
In an interview with NBC News, Bessent said President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance held a very productive" call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who later followed up with him on Friday, and they discussed what the US and European Union (EU) could do to put more pressure on Russia.
"If the US and the EU can come in, do more sanctions, secondary tariffs on the countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will be in full collapse, and that will bring President Putin to the table," Bessent said.
The treasury secretary further said that the US is prepared to increase pressure on Russia, "but we need our European partners to follow us". "We are in a race now between how long can the Ukrainian military hold up versus how long can the Russian economy hold up," Bessent said.
Notably, the Trump administration has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil on top of the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs announced earlier, bringing the total duties imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent, with effect from August 27.
Very disappointed... India would be buying oil from Russia: Trump
Earlier, Trump expressed his "great disappointment" over India's decision to purchase "so much" oil from Russia.
"We put a very big tariff on India, 50 per cent tariff, a very high tariff. I get along very well with (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, he's great. He was here a couple of months ago," Trump had said in the Oval Office on Friday.
The President was responding to a question on whether he is prepared to reset relations with India, as bilateral ties reel under what many observers describe as their most strained phase in over two decades.
Several senior Trump administration officials, including Bessent and trade advisor Peter Navarro, have argued that India's continued purchases of Russian oil are indirectly financing Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.
New Delhi, meanwhile, has sharply criticised the US tariffs, calling them "unjustified and unreasonable." Defending its decision to buy Russian crude, India has consistently maintained that its energy procurement policy is guided by national interest and market dynamics.
(With PTI inputs)
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