Trump and Putin set to talk following Biden’s tough sanctions on Russia’s energy sector
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to have a call in the coming days or weeks, after Joe Biden’s administration imposed its broadest package of sanctions so far targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues.
U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, told ABC on Sunday that the war had become a World War One-style “meat grinder of people and resources” with “World War Three consequences,” according to ABC.
“Everybody knows that this has to end somehow diplomatically,” Waltz, a Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, told ABC.
“I just don’t think it’s realistic to say we’re going to expel every Russian from every inch of Ukrainian soil, even Crimea. President Trump has acknowledged that reality, and I think it’s been a huge step forward that the entire world is acknowledging that reality. Now let’s move forward.”
Asked specifically about contacts between Trump and Putin, Waltz said, “I do expect a call for, at least in the coming days and weeks. So, that would be a step, and we’ll take it from there.”
On Friday, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration implemented its largest sanctions package to date, targeting Russia’s oil and gas revenues. According to U.S. officials, the move aims to provide leverage for Donald Trump’s incoming team in negotiating a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft SIBN.MM and Surgutneftegas, which explore for, produce, and sell oil, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil. The sanctions also include networks that trade the petroleum.
This move followed previous sanctions in November on banks, including Gazprombank, Russia’s largest conduit to the global energy business, and earlier last year on dozens of tankers carrying Russian oil.
