Ahead of this afternoon’s meeting between leaders in Europe, Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been speaking about the president’s meeting with Putin this weekend.
He tells Bloomsberg TV that “everyone has been frustrated with Putin”, but suggests that now “it looks like he may be ready to negotiate”.
“The president is the best at creating leverage for himself, and he will make it clear to president Putin that all options are on the table,” he explains.
But, Bessent warns that if talks don’t go as planned, “then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up”.
And he reiterates that Europe needs to be willing to also put secondary sanctions on Russia.
“We need the Europeans to come in and help create more leverage,” he explains.