EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan will lead a delegation to Washington on Monday for talks aimed at tightening coordination with the United States on measures against Russia
O’Sullivan, who has spearheaded the bloc's global campaign to curb Russia's evasion of sanctions, is scheduled to hold meetings on Monday and Tuesday, an EU official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The talks come a day after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions on Russia following what Ukraine described as the Russian military's largest air attack since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that Washington was ready to "increase pressure" on Moscow, but urged Europe to act more aggressively.
"We are talking about what the two, the EU and the U.S., do together,” Bessent said on NBC's Meet the Press. "But we need our European partners to follow us."
Trump has threatened to penalize countries that buy Russian oil, a key source of revenue for the Kremlin. So far, however, Washington has imposed secondary sanctions only on India.
Brussels is preparing its 19th sanctions package against Russia, with officials saying it should include more measures against countries accused of helping Moscow skirt restrictions. The bloc's most recent package targeted several Chinese banks and an oil refinery in India.
But any move to tighten pressure on India could prove politically fraught, as the EU seeks closer trade ties with New Delhi and worries about pushing it closer to Russia and China.
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