The BRICS TimesUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused India and China of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, and called for more sanctions and secondary tariffs on countries doing trade with Moscow.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday urged the Trump administration and European allies to intensify economic pressure on Russia, stressing that such steps could compel President Vladimir Putin to engage in peace negotiations with Ukraine. Bessent emphasized that increasing sanctions and applying secondary tariffs on nations trading with Moscow would accelerate Russia’s financial downfall.
Bessent, who recently branded India and China as “bad actors” for continuing to purchase Russian oil, accused both nations of indirectly supporting Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine. He insisted that greater punitive measures should be imposed on countries maintaining oil trade with Russia.
“If the US and the (European Union) 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 told NBC’s Meet the Press, as reported by Reuters. He further underlined that the Trump administration was “prepared to increase pressure on Russia.”
The United States has already imposed steep import tariffs, slapping India with a 50 percent duty on Russian crude purchases, while China faced an even heavier 145 percent levy. However, Washington suspended the Chinese tariffs for a 90-day period. In response, India strongly criticized Western hypocrisy, highlighting that many European nations also import Russian energy yet remain untouched by such restrictions.
“We need our European partners to follow us, because if the US and the EU do this together, 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 added during the interview.
Meanwhile, Trump has expressed deep frustration over his inability to halt the Ukraine war, despite repeated promises during his campaign that he could swiftly end the crisis after beginning his second presidential term in January.
Bessent’s comments surfaced just weeks after the high-profile Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin concluded without a breakthrough. The meeting failed to produce any agreement to end or pause what has become the deadliest European conflict since World War II, now stretching into its fourth year. Although Trump described the discussions as “productive” and admitted both leaders found common ground on certain issues, he reiterated, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to the Trump-Putin talks by affirming India’s consistent stance of supporting peaceful solutions to the Ukraine war. New Delhi praised the leadership of both Trump and Putin, calling their pursuit of dialogue “highly commendable” while reiterating its call for diplomacy.
Russia-Ukraine hostilities intensify
Even as diplomatic maneuvering continues, violence on the ground escalated on Sunday. Russian forces struck government buildings in central Kyiv that house Ukraine’s cabinet offices, sparking massive fires and killing at least three people.
Ukraine retaliated by targeting Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline in the Bryansk region, widening the confrontation to energy and governmental infrastructure. Heavy smoke poured from Kyiv’s cabinet building in the Pecherskyi district after the overnight attack, which officials described as the gravest escalation in months. The assault underscored the relentless destruction as international efforts to bring peace remain stalled.
