Trump ready to impose harsh sanctions on Russia if they push negotiations forward – US Treasury Secretary

He said this in an interview with CNBC.

At the same time, Bessent emphasized that Trump is "ready to exert maximum pressure on both sides."

The secretary also stated that American sanctions against Moscow under Joe Biden’s administration were introduced at an insufficient level.

"If we take a scale from zero to ten, then in my opinion, the Biden administration's sanctions initially were at a three, and then they were raised to a six. We, however, would have no hesitation in raising them to ten," he added.

• On March 13, it was reported that Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade had reached out to Russian companies, asking them to suggest which sanctions Moscow should attempt to lift in negotiations with Washington.