Vladimir Putin was "neither honest nor frank" with Donald Trump, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, justifying the imposition of new economic sanctions against Russia, reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
"President Putin was neither honest nor frank in the negotiations, as we had hoped," the minister said in an interview with "Fox Business" television. The US president is "disappointed with the current state of negotiations" on the war in Ukraine, he noted.
The US has imposed sanctions on the two largest Russian oil companies "Rosneft" and "Lukoil" over the war in Ukraine and announced that they are ready to take more action. Washington has called on Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
"Given President (Vladimir) Putin's refusal to end this senseless war, the Treasury Department is sanctioning the two largest Russian oil companies that finance the Kremlin's war machine," US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in an official statement. "We urge our allies to join us in complying with these sanctions."
After the US measures were announced, oil prices immediately jumped by more than $2 a barrel. Futures for the "Brent" variety, which is a reference, rose to around $64.
The sanctions mark a significant shift in Trump's policy, which had not sanctioned Russia for the war and instead relied on trade measures, Reuters notes. Earlier this year, he imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over its purchases of Russian oil.
The United States has taken similar action against another major consumer of Moscow's black gold - China. In recent years, the $60 price ceiling on Russian oil, imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, has forced Russia to shift its oil exports from Europe to Asia.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he had canceled a planned summit with Putin in Hungary because he felt now was not the right time for it.