Free Republic

Incoming Trump administration officials reportedly are developing a sanctions strategy that they hope will expedite a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war. -snip- Bloomberg reported that incoming Trump administration officials are considering two main options in regard to sanctions. If they believe a resolution to the Ukraine war is relatively close, good-faith measures to benefit sanctioned Russian oil producers could help bring about a peace deal, sources told the outlet. Another option would build on the current sanctions in an attempt to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to end the conflict.

Scott Bessent said the US should increase sanctions on Russian oil producers to force Moscow to negotiate with Ukraine as he criticised the Biden administration for not being tougher on Vladimir Putin’s regime. The comments on Thursday by Donald Trump’s nominee to be Treasury secretary pushed up oil prices, as traders considered the prospect of tighter global crude supply. The new administration is also expected to target Iranian and Venezuelan oil with tougher sanctions as Trump seeks to increase economic pressure on the US’s adversaries.

Treasury Secretary-nominee Scott Bessent told senators Thursday that he would be “100 percent on board” with increasing sanctions on Russia’s major oil companies if President-elect Trump supports that strategy as a way to end the war in Ukraine. “If any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I’m confirmed and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, that I will be 100 percent on board for taking sanctions up, especially on the Russian oil majors, to levels that would bring the Russia Federation to the...