Washington — According to four sources familiar with the plan, the Trump administration will further restrict Russian oil, gas, and banking sectors’ access to U.S. payments systems.
Treasury Department let expire on Wednesday a 60 day exemption that was put in place in January by the Biden Administration to allow specific energy transactions with sanctioned Russian Banks to continue. The waiver will expire and the banks won’t be able to access U.S. payments systems for major energy transactions.
Vnesheconombank (Russian financial institution) was exempted from sanctions, as were Bank Financial Corporation Otkritie (Bank Financial Corporation Otkritie), Sberbank (VTB Bank), Alfa-Bank (VTB Bank), Rosbank Bank Zenit Bank Saint-Petersburg, and the Central Bank of Russia.
It is now harder for other countries than ever to purchase Russian oil. This will limit its global supply. This could result in a price increase of up to five dollars per barrel, which is a significant jump after recent lower prices.
The Trump administration also wants to convince Russia that it should accept the terms of a proposed ceasefire for 30 days to end the conflict in Ukraine. On Thursday, President Trump said that U.S. officials were meeting with “President Putin” and other leaders and had “very serious talks.”
