Overview
- President Trump postponed a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin, saying he would not attend a wasted session, after announcing sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil.
- The Kremlin said it was wrong to call the meeting cancelled and stated that Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio were instructed to prepare the process.
- Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said any Budapest summit now depends on the U.S., which initiated the idea, as Moscow labels the new energy sanctions an unfriendly step.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev a propagandist and said Russia would feel sanctions pain immediately, citing his contention that some Indian and Chinese refineries paused Russian oil purchases.
- Dmitriev is in the United States meeting administration figures and media; ISW assesses the visit as an effort to spread Kremlin narratives, while Ukraine’s ambassador welcomed coordinated sanctions and urged reinstating and strengthening measures against him.