Trump ready to ‘double down’ on Russia sanctions – envoy

More economic pressure could be applied on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, Keith Kellogg has said

US President Donald Trump is prepared to intensify sanctions on Russia in order to push for an end to the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, according to his special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.

Trump has vowed to negotiate a resolution to the conflict and has reportedly given Kellogg 100 days to hammer out such a settlement. Last month, he warned of new sanctions if Moscow refused an unspecified settlement, but emphasized that he is “not looking to hurt Russia.”

In an interview with the New York Post this week, Kellogg said the current sanctions against Russia are “only about a three” on a scale of one to 10 in terms of how painful the economic pressure can be.

“You could really increase the sanctions — especially the latest sanctions,” he stated in an apparent referral to the EU’s 15th package of sanctions that target Russian oil production and exports.

Kellogg has blasted former US President Joe Biden’s strategy of promising to provide Ukraine aid for “as long as it takes, as much as it takes,” claiming that is not a strategy, but “a bumper sticker.”

“The pressure just can’t be military. You have to put economic pressure, you have to put diplomatic pressure” on Russia, he told the newspaper, adding that “If there’s anyone who understands leverage, it’s President Trump.” 

Trump’s team has been working hard to end the conflict, the envoy stated, adding that in the end both Kiev and Moscow will have to give up something in order to halt the “industrial-size” killing.

Kellogg also refuted a recent Bloomberg report claiming he would present a peace plan at next week’s Munich Security Conference.

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Trump has repeatedly stated that he is ready to speak with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin previously said it was waiting for clear signals from the White House.

Putin, however, has stated that any negotiations under the current conditions would be legally “illegitimate” due to Vladimir Zelensky’s 2022 decree prohibiting talks with Russia.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrey Sybiha told reporters this week that the country’s officials hope to have several meetings with Kellogg and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich conference.

Zelensky claimed on Thursday that Trump still has no official plan for how to stop the conflict, adding “Our teams will be working together because there can’t be a separate plan, created without us.”

He has urged Trump to adhere to the principle of “peace through strength” by preserving US military assistance to Kiev and increasing pressure on Russia, forcing Moscow to meet Ukrainian demands during potential peace negotiations.

READ MORE: West should push Kiev into talks with Moscow – Putin

Russia has insisted that hostilities will only end if Ukraine commits to permanent neutrality, demilitarization and denazification, while also recognizing the territorial “realities on the ground.” Moscow has stated that it remains open to negotiations but insists that any agreement must include “reliable, legally binding agreements eliminating the root causes of the conflict.”