U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a wide-ranging interview on Mornings with Maria, weighs in on President Donald Trumps meeting with Vladimir Putin, updates U.S.-China trade talks and housing affordability crisis solutions.
President Donald Trump will travel to Alaska on Friday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he looks to move negotiations that would bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Trump has tried to bring the two sides to the negotiating table to end the war and has ratcheted up his rhetoric against Russia if it continues to refuse to agree to a ceasefire. His administration has also taken steps to undercut Putin’s economic leverage by threatening tariffs on countries that continue to purchase Russian energy.
Earlier this month, the White House announced that Trump signed an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil, which helps finance Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The order also deemed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and created a mechanism for relevant federal agencies to monitor other potential violators.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview ahead of Trump’s meeting with Putin that America’s European allies should get on board with applying more economic pressure on Russia’s energy sector and clamping down on cash flows that are financing Russia’s military campaign.
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President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. (Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“I want to say that it is time for European counterparts to put up or shut up,” Bessent said in an interview with FOX Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” on Thursday.
“They keep saying, ‘Oh, the U.S. should do this, the U.S. should do that.’ President Trump has put secondary sanctions or secondary tariffs on India because of their consumption of Russian oil, and the Europeans haven’t done that yet. As a matter of fact, the Europeans are buying the refined products that the Indian refiners make,” Bessent explained.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged European countries to step up economic pressure on Russia. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“So we need some coordination here,” he said. “If we are going to have a united front, which will give President Trump maximum leverage, then I think our European counterparts need to do their part.”
Bessent explained that if the meeting in Alaska doesn’t go well, the Trump administration could ramp up more secondary tariffs on Russia’s trading partners, saying “I think everything’s on the table.”
“We will see if President Putin is ready to negotiate, and you know, this is his chance if he wants to stop the bloodshed. President Trump is willing to keep the talks going, and he’s already talked about this as the precursor for a second round of talks,” Bessent added.
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Russia has funded its war against Ukraine in part through energy sales to countries including China and India. (Contributor/Getty Images / Getty Images)
President Trump also discussed the meeting during a press availability on Thursday, saying that while he views this meeting as important, he views the potential for a second meeting that would include both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as being more significant in the peace process.
“We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think it’s going to be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting we’re having – we’re going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenskyy, myself, and maybe we’ll bring some of the European leaders along, maybe not. I don’t know that that’s going to be very important,” Trump said. “We’re going to see what happens.”
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“I think President Putin will make peace, I think President Zelenskyy will make peace, and we’ll see if they can get along and if they can, it’ll be great,” Trump said.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
