The United States has reduced its participation in sanctions efforts against russia

The United States has been largely absent from several working groups set up by allies to stop attempts to circumvent anti-russian sanctions.

According to unnamed officials, the United States was largely unresponsive in one group focused on preventing the russians from obtaining parts and equipment used to make weapons. In the other group, which is dedicated to monitoring and enforcing the Group of Seven (G7) price ceiling on russian oil, the United States was silent.

It is unclear whether Washington has made an active decision to reduce its participation or whether the United States is simply missing key personnel, the officials said. They added that some meetings were attended by more junior officials who lacked decision-making authority.

The sanctions imposed on russia after its invasion of Ukraine are becoming a major point of tension between Washington and Kyiv's European allies as Trump insists on ending the war.

Trump has said he is ready to increase sanctions against russia if moscow does not seriously engage in peace talks. However, European officials say that there have been no signs of preparations for such a move, and it is unclear what actions, if any, the United States is taking to combat the circumvention of existing measures.

Earlier this month, however, the Trump administration tightened its restrictions by allowing some banks to terminate their license covering energy payments. In February, the United States already withdrew from the KleptoCapture working group, which was created by the administration of former US President Joe Biden with a broad mandate to take measures against russia.

After the formation of the sanctions regime in 2022, the United States, together with its allies, created a number of working groups and task forces to coordinate their efforts to apply restrictions. All groups considered restricting moscow's access to technologies and parts needed for military goods as a top priority, and paid special attention to blocking trade routes through third countries, including the UAE and India, which russia used.

This work includes joint activities, sanctions against companies in third countries that help moscow, and diplomatic pressure on these countries to cut off trade routes. The unnamed officials said that the United Kingdom, the European Union and other G7 allies continue to coordinate these efforts.

Source: Bloomberg