After recently pressuring India over its oil trade with Moscow, the United States has now turned its sights directly on Russia, pushing for fresh sanctions and tariffs.
But while Washington frames this as an urgent strategy to end the war in Ukraine, critics argue it is little more than bullying tactics aimed at forcing compliance — and Russia, unlike India, is no easy target.
On Monday evening, senior US and European officials convened at the Treasury Department in Washington to explore new ways of tightening the economic noose on Moscow.
A person familiar with the meeting told the Associated Press that the discussions centered on tariff actions, collective sanctions, and the fate of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets in Europe.
The source, who spoke anonymously, added that US officials made it clear President Donald Trump is prepared to take significant actions to push for an end to the war, but he expects full cooperation from European partners before moving forward.
Coordinated Strategy in Play
The talks, which lasted less than two hours, were attended by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, officials from the White House, State Department, and US Trade Representative, along with European staff focused on energy, sanctions, financial services, and trade. Both sides agreed to reconvene on Tuesday.
For Washington, the aim is straightforward: suffocate Moscow’s ability to fund its war machine and press President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants Putin to sit down directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but his earlier summit in Alaska yielded little progress.
Trump’s self-imposed August deadline for the Kremlin to withdraw from Ukraine has already lapsed. Over the weekend, he admitted that the war has proved harder to resolve than anticipated but maintained optimism: “I believe we’re going to get it settled. I have confidence we’re going to get it done.”
Bullying or Necessary Pressure?
Supporters of the US approach argue that only maximum economic pressure can force Moscow to reconsider its military strategy.
Yet detractors point out that Washington is once again leaning on its familiar playbook of tariffs, sanctions, and threats, which many see as coercive rather than diplomatic.
And unlike India, where the US sought to curb energy ties with Moscow through pressure campaigns, Russia remains a global military and energy powerhouse.
With deep alternative trade networks across Asia and Africa, analysts caution that Moscow may prove far more resilient to American “bullying” and that such tactics could even harden its resolve.
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