Economic pressure could bring Russia to negotiating table, Bessent says

By John Kruzel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that additional economic pressure by the United States and Europe could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter peace talks with Ukraine.

"If the U.S. 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 said on NBC's Meet the Press.

Bessent said President Donald Trump's administration is "prepared to increase pressure on Russia."

But, he added, "we need our European partners to follow us, because if the U.S. 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?"

Trump has been frustrated at his inability to bring a halt to the fighting in Ukraine after he initially predicted he would be able to end the war swiftly when he took office in January.

He has withheld new sanctions on Russia and China, a top Russian oil buyer. But he has ramped up tariffs on U.S. imports from India, another top Russian energy consumer.

(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Ross Colvin and Andrea Ricci)