On October 24, US President Donald Trump said that the real consequences of the new sanctions that the US has just imposed on Russia will only be clear after about 6 months.
The statement came as he was asked to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that the sanctions would not significantly affect Russia's economic situation.
On October 22, the US Treasury Department announced a new package of sanctions, targeting two major Russian energy groups, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with 34 subsidiaries. This is considered one of the strongest strikes on Russia's economic " corridor" since the conflict in Ukraine began, as these are two groups that contribute a large part of their revenue from oil exports, an important financial source for the Kremlin budget.
On the Russian side, President Putin condemned the new US sanctions, calling it an "unfriendly" act. He said the move was undermining efforts to improve bilateral relations, which have only just shown signs of recovery. According to Mr. Putin, the US itself is damaging bilateral relations by these actions.
At the same time, Mr. Putin also expressed skepticism about whether the new sanctions will actually hurt the Russian economy. He stressed that the Russian economy has previously shown remarkable resilience to Western sanctions.
With the promise "6 months to be clear", Mr. Trump expressed his confidence in the long-term effectiveness of the sanctions, although the immediate impact may not be clear.
This is seen as part of the US's overall strategy to put economic pressure, with the goal of isolating Russia and exhausting the money it is using for the conflict in Ukraine.
The new sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil came just days after England also took a similar stance. It also follows the Trump administration's efforts to convince major Russian customers such as India and Japan to stop buying Russian oil.
