Sanctions Against Russia: Europe Puts Pressure On Trump
- 18.09.2025, 8:50
But gets counterclaims.
European governments urged US President Donald Trump to strengthen sanctions against Russia, but he responded with counter demands - to stop purchases of Russian oil and impose duties against India and China.
The Wall Street Journal writes The Wall Street Journal.
The EU reportedly postponed a new package of sanctions against Russia to find a way to make it tougher.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said future restrictions would affect Russia's banking sector, the crypto market and energy.
Sources say Trump has urged Europeans to use Russian assets frozen in Belgium that have been stored there since the start of the all-out war. The US administration has publicly supported the idea, however, it has long remained unacceptable to the EU for fear of losing its status as a reliable financial center.
The challenges from Washington have once again highlighted the EU's problems in developing a unified strategy against the Kremlin. Previous sanctions packages have failed to achieve the desired effect, U.S. arms supplies are stalled, and some countries are still dependent on Russia for energy.
Some diplomats believe that Trump has made deliberately unrealistic demands to avoid additional pressure on Russia.
It is extremely difficult for Europe to fulfill Trump's calls - to stop buying Russian oil completely, as well as to impose tough sanctions against China and India.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the EU's intention to completely stop importing Russian oil and gas by 2027. At the same time, attempts to speed up the process could run into resistance from Hungary and Slovakia, which remain dependent on Russian energy. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's close relationship with Donald Trump could strengthen Budapest's willingness to compromise.
The EU has also abandoned the idea of tariffs against India and China, favoring sanctions against companies and intermediaries that circumvent the restrictions. The new package will include Chinese firms, while no additional measures against Indian businesses are planned, as Brussels continues to negotiate a free trade agreement with New Delhi.
European leaders have long called on Trump to impose tougher sanctions against Russia and its supporters, while their own countries continue to buy Russian energy and allow individual Russian banks to access the SWIFT system, a global financial transaction network centered in Belgium. The EU has also avoided so-called secondary sanctions against states that finance Moscow's military efforts.
The EU has imposed a series of financial, energy and economic restrictions and significantly reduced Russian gas imports. At the same time, their implementation remains weak.
Trump himself has yet to materialize his own longstanding threats of new punitive measures against Russia, though he has at times stepped up the rhetoric after Moscow's particularly bloody attacks against Ukrainian civilians. He has, however, imposed 50 percent duties on Indian goods as punishment for buying huge amounts of Russian oil.
EU capitals continue to buy energy both directly and indirectly - to the tune of about $27 billion in 2024. Their imports of Russian liquefied natural gas surged last year. They are not prepared to provoke a trade war with China, which remains a critical export market.
While the EU is trying to agree on a sanctions response, it is also considering using some of the $300 billion in frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank. Until now, European governments have directed only the interest from those deposits to fund Ukraine's defense. But as the cost of war rises, approaches are changing.
The bulk of these funds are European, U.S. and British government bonds held in the Euroclear system, a European securities depository in Belgium. Brussels is now considering unlocking some of the money from as early as next year.
One option is for Europe to actually lend the funds to Ukraine, committing to offset any Euroclear losses. If Russia fails to pay reparations to Ukraine after the war is over, the EU would simply keep the sanctions in place to avoid having to choose between asset confiscation or Euroclear's own repayments. The sanctions prohibit Euroclear from returning assets to Russia.
"This fund will be effectively a free and unlimited subscription to arms," said one of the officials involved in the talks. Russia has already warned that it will respond to the asset forfeiture by, among other things, seizing the property of European companies still operating in Russia.