The United States is developing a plan to ease sanctions against Russia as President Donald Trump seeks to restore relations with Moscow and halt the war in Ukraine, reported Reuters citing two sources.
The White House has asked the State Department and the Treasury Department to prepare a list of sanctions that could be eased for discussion by American officials with Russian representatives in the coming days as part of the Trump administration's broader negotiations with the Kremlin to improve diplomatic and economic relations, sources said.
According to them, the sanctioning agencies are now preparing a proposal to lift sanctions from certain legal and physical entities, including some Russian oligarchs.
Recently, Trump administration officials have openly acknowledged the possibility of easing sanctions against Moscow. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in an interview with Bloomberg Television on February 20 that Russia could receive economic relief depending on how it approaches negotiations in the coming weeks. On February 26, Trump told reporters that Russian sanctions could be eased "at some point".
As John Smith, a partner at the law firm Morrison Forester and former head of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Treasury Department, told the agency, Trump could issue an order allowing the administration to begin the process of easing some Russian sanctions, but to lift measures against certain organizations, he would also need to obtain Congressional approval.
Russia states that it is open to economic cooperation. Last week, the Kremlin stated that Russia has many rare earth metal deposits and is ready to make deals for their development. However, any official economic deal with Moscow is likely to require the US to ease sanctions.
Photo: Reuters