US President Donald Trump told reporters in Doha on Saturday that he does not plan to meet with Vladimir Putin until he believes that an agreement to end the war in Ukraine will be reached. "We need to know that we will make a deal, I am not going to waste my time," Trump said.
In addition, the White House has prepared new sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy. They could be implemented if Vladimir Putin continues to delay ending the war in Ukraine, writes Reuters, citing sources.
Some of the prepared measures affect the Russian banking sector and oil export infrastructure. In addition, internal discussions have begun in Washington about using frozen Russian assets in the US to support Ukraine, sources told the agency.
The US is also urging European countries to impose additional sanctions or tariffs. However, a Reuters interlocutor among high-ranking EU officials said that it would be more difficult for the European Union to impose restrictions against "Lukoil" because the company is closely linked to the European economy.
The idea of a 500% tariff on imports from countries purchasing Russian energy resources is also being discussed.
According to sources, Trump will take a pause for several weeks to assess Moscow's reaction to the already announced sanctions against "Rosneft" and "Lukoil".