US President Donald Trump is ready to tighten US sanctions imposed on Russia to force it to end its war against Ukraine, Ukrinform reported, citing an interview by Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg with the "New York Post".
"The sanctions could really increase - especially the latest sanctions (targeting oil production and exports - ed.)", Kellogg noted to the newspaper.
"This has raised the bar very high for something to be done. "And if there's anyone who understands leverage, it's President Donald J. Trump, and that's evident from what he's done recently (in other cases of solving foreign problems)," he said.
The imposition of sanctions on Russia is "only about three" on a scale of one to ten for how painful the economic pressure can be, Kellogg added.
US sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector are nominally twice as tough, but there is still room to tighten them, Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine said.
According to Kellogg, the entire US administration is working to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war.
"We've got the national security team talking about this - the president, the vice president, the national security adviser, the secretaries of state (and) treasury, the National Security Council, all working together," Kellogg told the "New York Post". At the same time, he noted that Ukraine will have to continue to exert military pressure on Russia in the run-up to the talks.
Kellogg also criticized the strategy pursued by former US President Joe Biden, who promised to help Ukraine "for as long as necessary" without increasing pressure on other parts of the Russian government. "This is not a strategy, it's a sticker," he said.
According to Kellogg, exerting pressure only through military means is not enough.
"You have to exert economic pressure, diplomatic pressure," added Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine.