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Trump is ready to launch a second phase of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict

Donald Trump, U.S. president, said Sunday that he was ready to move into a second phase in sanctioning Russia. This is the closest he's come to implying he might be about to ramp up sanctions against Moscow and its oil purchasers over the war with Ukraine.

Trump has repeatedly warned Moscow of further sanctions, but he withheld them while pursuing peace talks.

Trump did not commit to a decision, nor did he specify what the second phase would entail.

When asked by a White House reporter if he was ready to move on to the "second phase" of sanctions, Trump replied, "Yeah. I am." He didn't elaborate.

Trump is frustrated at his inability, after taking office in January, to quickly end the conflict in Ukraine.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a Sunday email seeking comments about the steps Trump is considering. The exchange followed Trump's Wednesday comments defending his actions against Russia, which included imposing punitive duties on India's exports to the U.S. last month.

India is the largest buyer of Russia’s energy exports. Western buyers, however, have reduced their purchases in response to war.

Trump stated on Wednesday that "that cost Russia hundreds of billions" of dollars. "You call this no action?" "You call that no action?" Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that both the U.S. & the European Union can impose "secondary tariffs" on countries who buy Russian oil, pushing the Russian economy into a state of crisis and forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the negotiation table.

China is the largest buyer of Russian energy.

(source: Reuters)