US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that no sanctions on Russia were lifted, defending President Donald Trump's decision to waive new punitive measures amid the war in Ukraine.
"No sanctions were lifted on Friday," Bessent told NBC News, saying the administration had been given a 60-day period to examine the situation.
"The only thing that has been lifted is the diesel embargo," he said, insisting that the US had not rolled back its existing sanctions.
Bessent argued that Trump had taken a tough line against Moscow, pointing to sanctions imposed on Russia's two largest energy companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
"President Trump sanctioned the two largest Russian energy companies ... which was a catastrophic blow to the Russian energy industry," he said.
The remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Washington siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake," while expressing hope that Trump would reconsider his decisions.
"We want to trust him," Zelenskyy told NBC earlier, warning that Ukraine could not withstand a situation in which Washington and Moscow aligned against Kyiv.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had experienced a temporary interruption in US intelligence sharing and restrictions on satellite communications critical to its defense against Russian attacks.
Bessent rejected Zelenskyy's allegations that the Trump administration was responsible for disruptions, saying that "it is very reckless for President Zelensky to make such a charge."
He also denied that Washington was siding with Moscow, citing US intelligence support, Starlink access and arrangements allowing NATO members to purchase American weapons for Ukraine.
Defending the administration's approach, Bessent criticized European countries for continuing to buy Russian energy while providing financial support to Moscow.
"The Europeans have given Russia and Vladimir Putin more money than they've given the Ukrainians," he said.
