US Urges G7 to Strengthen Sanctions Against Russia

The United States pressed its G7 allies to take tougher action against Russia, summoning tariffs on nations that keep buying Russian oil.

In a joint call with G7 finance ministers on Friday, US Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeated President Donald Trump's call for allies to ramp up efforts to cut Moscow's energy revenues, which Washington says are fueling the war in Ukraine.

It will take only a concerted effort that slashes the revenues supporting Putin's war machine at the source that we can impose enough economic pressure to bring the futile bloodshed to an end," Greer and Bessent said after the call.

The officials noted that the US has already applied punitive tariffs on countries which have persisted in importing Russian oil, describing the policy as a key component of Trump's effort to coax Moscow to the negotiating table. They urged the other G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom — to do the same.

Greer and Bessent also accepted commitments from G7 allies to support current sanctions and explore the possibility of utilizing frozen Russian sovereign wealth to fund Ukraine's defense.

Due to President Trump's courageous leadership, the United States has already acted dramatically against buyers of Russian oil," the statement read. "We welcome the commitments of our other G7 partners that they will do all in their power to bring this war to a close, and we hope that they will join us in decisive action at this time.

The appeal follows as members of the G7 continue to discuss how much sanctions can be ratcheted up without triggering broader energy disruptions, especially in developing nations that remain dependent on Russian energy.

On Friday, Trump also signaled intentions to introduce "very hard" economic penalties to Russia, including tariffs.

"It'd be hitting very hard on with sanctions to banks and having to do with oil and tariffs also," Trump said in an interview to Fox News.