US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s freeze on new Russia sanctions by criticizing Europe’s continued economic ties with Moscow.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s freeze on new Russia sanctions by criticizing Europe’s continued economic ties with Moscow. He claimed Europeans have provided Russia and Putin with more money than Ukraine through continued energy purchases and said the EU buys many times more Russian goods than the US. Bessent also said European allies rejected his request to join additional tariffs on goods from China and India.