US Treasury’s Bessent says 'despicable' Russian bombing campaign against Ukraine puts all sanctions options on the table
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sept. 1 that the Trump administration is considering new sanctions on Russia after President Vladimir Putin intensified strikes on Ukraine despite recent peace talks.
“I think everything’s on the table,” Bessent said speaking to Fox News' Senior National Correspondent Rich Edson in Washington, D.C. "President Putin, since the historic meeting in Anchorage, since the phone call, when the European leaders and President Zelensky were at the White House the following Monday, has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do. As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign."
“So I think with President Trump, all options are on the table, and I think we’ll be examining those very closely this week," he added.
The remarks come mere weeks after Trump met Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in an effort to advance a peace deal. Since then, Russia has continued its assault on Ukraine, launching fresh barrages of missiles and drones. On Aug. 28, Russia launched a mass attack against Ukraine, killing 25 people in Kyiv and injuring 63 people, including 11 children.
U.S. lawmakers have already signaled they are ready to impose tough sanctions if peace efforts collapse. Experts told Fox News Digital last week that Putin may be using negotiations to buy time while pressing ahead with his military campaign and attempting to avoid secondary sanctions threatened by Washington.
Bessent was also asked about the U.S.-India relationship following the administration’s decision to raise tariffs on Indian goods, citing India’s purchases of Russian oil that Washington argues help finance the war. The comments came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian and Chinese leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.
“This is a longstanding meeting, it’s called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and I think it’s largely performative,” Bessent said. “I think at the end of the day, India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours and to China’s than to Russia’s.”
"But the Indians have not been great actors in terms of buying Russian oil and then reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine,” Bessent said.
