Trump: "Meeting with Putin Canceled as It Was Deemed 'Inappropriate'"
U.S. Treasury Freezes Assets of Two Russian Oil Companies
"Aiming to Weaken Russian Government's Ability to Raise Funds"
President Donald Trump of the United States canceled his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and imposed additional sanctions on Russia's energy sector. As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to drag on, the United States is intensifying pressure to cut off Russia's war funding.
On the 22nd (local time), during a meeting at the White House with Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), President Trump stated, "We canceled the meeting with President Putin because we felt it was not appropriate." He explained the background of the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on Russia, saying, "I felt it was time to sanction them. We have waited a long time."
On the same day, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced, "We are imposing additional sanctions on Russia because it is not engaging seriously in peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine." The statement added, "We will intensify pressure on Russia's energy sector and weaken Russia's ability to finance the war and support its economy." It also emphasized, "The United States will continue to support a peaceful resolution to the war, and lasting peace depends entirely on whether Russia is willing to negotiate in good faith." The Treasury Department added, "We will continue to use our sanctions authority to support peace negotiations."
Regarding this, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said, "Now is the time to stop the killing and move toward an immediate ceasefire," urging allied countries to join and follow these sanctions.
The companies designated for sanctions on this day include two major Russian oil companies, Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil, as well as their subsidiaries. The U.S. Treasury Department stated that these companies were designated because they operate in the energy sector of the Russian Federation's economy, and announced that all entities in which these companies directly or indirectly hold more than a 50% stake will have their assets frozen.
Recently, President Trump has expressed his intention to end the Russia-Ukraine war, following the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Previously, on the 16th, after a phone call with President Putin, President Trump announced plans for a U.S.-Russia summit in Hungary within the next two weeks. However, as differences between the two sides over a plan to end the Ukraine war became apparent, the summit appears to have effectively fallen through.
Russia is insisting that Ukraine must relinquish the entire Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) as a precondition for peace negotiations. On the previous night, Russia also launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of six people, including two children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders issued a joint statement the previous day, urging, "Pressure on Russia's economy and defense industry must be increased until President Putin is ready to achieve peace."
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