Treasury secretary says US to tighten sanctions on Russia

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the Trump administration will tighten its sanctions on Russia as soon as Wednesday after a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart was abruptly called off.

"We are going to announce either after the close this afternoon, or first thing tomorrow morning, a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions," Bessent told reporters at the White House.

He was referring to the close of the US stock market at 4 pm Eastern Time (2000GMT). Details on the sanctions were not immediately available.

The announcement came just one day after a White House official confirmed that a second planned meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold. Trump had said on Oct. 16 that the meeting would take place within two weeks, and while the cause for the about-face was not immediately known, it came in the wake of the Kremlin's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine sought by the US president.

Trump is slated to sit down with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, with the situation in Ukraine expected to be a major topic of discussion.