US calls Dmitriev a propagandist who cannot recognize the impact of sanctions on Russia

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Russian Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev a propagandist and said that statements that sanctions do not affect the aggressor country are false. He said this in the Face the Nation program on CBS news.

Bessent was reminded that Dmitriev had said that the US and European sanctions against Russia "will have absolutely no impact on the Russian economy" and will only lead to an alleged increase in prices at US gas stations. To which the US Secretary replied that Moscow would immediately feel the consequences.

"Are you really going to publish what a Russian propagandist says? What else is he going to say? That everything will be terrible and it will force Putin to the negotiating table?" said Bessent.

At the same time, he noted that the Russian economy is now set up for wartime, its growth is "practically zero," and inflation is over 20%. Bessent noted that the Kremlin's military machine is financed by oil sales, and sanctions, in his opinion, have managed to "significantly reduce the profit from it.".

"What do you think will happen to him if he comes home and says on TV: "This is terrible, President Trump did the right thing. This is a maximum pressure campaign that will work"? Of course, he will say this. If you analyze and look at every Russian talking point, they seem to use the expression: "We have protected the economy against this." Well, they didn't protect the economy," emphasized the head of the US Treasury.

He noted that after the sanctions, oil revenues fell by 20% year-on-year and could fall by another 20% or 30%.

• on October 25, CNN reported that Putin's envoy Dmitriev arrived in the United States two days after the sanctions were imposed. According to Axios, he was scheduled to meet with US Presidential Representative Vitkoff.