Washington's hawks push for sanctions in Russia stand-off
In Washington, impatience is growing over the lack of progress in negotiations with Russia, and imposing sanctions on Moscow is just a matter of time, Glen Howard, president of the Saratoga Foundation think tank, told PAP. He added that "hawks" are gaining influence in the White House, and a drastic economic move is being considered.
Russia was not included in the group of countries subjected to American tariffs, raising many suspicions in the context of thawing relations between the two countries. According to Glen Howard, president of the Washington-based think tank Saratoga Foundation, Trump is increasingly irritated by Putin's stance, who is "playing for time" regarding the war in Ukraine.
The US is irritated by Russia. Tough sanctions are in play
In response to European politicians' accusations that the US is seeking détente with Russia while turning away from NATO allies, Howard replied that such a "vision of the Alliance's and the eastern flank's demise" is untrue. He emphasized that these are "hasty conclusions."
The expert said that in the White House, the voice of the "hawks" faction, which advocates for tougher relations with Russia, is growing stronger. Among these "hawks," the expert includes National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. "They had been patient so far, waiting to see what negotiations would bring, knowing that President (Donald Trump) wants to talk (with Russia)," the expert assessed.
At the beginning of this week, US President Donald Trump escalated the rhetoric towards Russia. On Monday, he told reporters that he does not like that the Russians are "bombing like crazy" in Ukraine. Already earlier, on Sunday, March 30th, he threatened Russia with new economic sanctions "if the ceasefire agreement in Ukraine is not reached" and "if it is deemed that it is Russia's fault."
For now, the diplomatic maneuvering phase is still ongoing, and Trump's strategy is to tell the Russians, "I am neutral and want to end this war. I do not favour either Ukraine or Russia, but like everyone else, I believe this fight is pointless." However, as he warned, the talks will not last forever, said the president of the Washington-based think tank.
Is the US playing for cheap oil?
In his opinion, Washington may have set a goal to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine by Easter. If the Russians cannot be convinced to end the war, in Howard's opinion, Washington will use tough economic sanctions and supply Ukraine with more weapons. For instance, they will lift restrictions from the Joe Biden administration regarding the number of Ukrainian F-16 pilots trained in the US. The Russian "shadow fleet" in the Baltic, which bypasses sanctions to ensure the Kremlin's continuous export of Russian resources, will also be in the American crosshairs.
The goal of this administration is to lower the price per barrel of oil to below $61 (CAD), because if such a drastic drop occurs, Russia will be forced to end the war in Ukraine. It is for this reason that Washington has made Saudi Arabia a key partner, Howard assessed.
As emphasized by the American expert, the Trump administration is also enforcing existing sanctions imposed on Russia by President Biden, which "were porous." He emphasized that since the Trump administration tightened current sanctions, India has stopped buying oil from Russia.
Howard also reminded that despite the Kremlin's demands made during talks about a ceasefire in the Black Sea, the US did not lift sanctions imposed on certain Russian financial institutions, including the state agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank. He assured that Americans will not be "led by the nose," as evidenced by the promise to supply Ukraine with new Patriot systems following the Russian attack on a playground in Kryvyi Rih, which killed, among others, nine children.
In the opinion of the American expert, Washington threatened the Russians with devastating sanctions by communicating this to Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev. "Dmitriev was supposed to witness the economic might of the US and how Trump uses tariffs to punish the rest of the world," Howard assessed. "If anyone was to understand what 'tougher sanctions' would be, it is Dmitriev. I think Trump managed to paint a dramatic picture for him," Howard concluded.
