US Ambassador to NATO assures that Trump will enforce new sanctions against Russia

President of the United States Donald Trump will enforce tough new oil sanctions against Russia to force the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. This was stated in an interview with the Bloomberg said US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.

"We have imposed these sanctions. We plan to enforce them," Whitaker said.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil. This was a new attempt to put an end to Russia's war against Ukraine by depriving Moscow of the revenues it uses to finance it. It was the first package of financial sanctions against Russia since Trump took office.

"Maybe this will be the step that will allow President Putin to come to the table and end this war, and at least have a ceasefire so we can negotiate a final settlement," Whitaker said.

Oil prices jumped after the announcement of the sanctions, but the market reaction was restrained due to uncertainty about how seriously the White House would take new measures against Russia, which has been subject to tough sanctions since the first days of the full-scale war. However, according to Whitaker, this is just the beginning.

"President Trump holds all the cards, this is just one card he's playing. There are many more," said the US Ambassador to NATO.

• On October 22, Bessent announced a "significant strengthening" of the sanctions against Russia. The White House said they would not be directed against China.
• On the same day, the US Treasury Department imposed restrictions against Russia's Lukoil, Rosneft and dozens of subsidiaries.
• Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Vlasyuk said that due to sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil could lose up to 70% of their oil exports to India and China.