Ready to impose ‘2nd phase’ of sanctions against Russia: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was ready to impose the “second phase” of sanctions against Russia. “Yeah, I am,” he said outside the White House in response to a question if he was prepared to impose additional sanctions on Russia.

Trump's comment came shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Russian economy would “collapse” if Washington and the European Union imposed more secondary sanctions on countries that bought crude oil from Moscow.

Bessent said President Trump and Vice-President J D Vance had a very productive call with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who followed up with a call with him on Friday and they discussed what the US and European Union (EU) could do to put more pressure on Russia.

Last week, Trump said he put secondary sanctions on India for its purchases of Russian oil, “the largest purchaser outside of China”, and indicated that he had not done “phase two or phase three yet”. Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.