Bloomberg: US reduces its participation in countering Russian ways to circumvent sanctions

European officials have said that the Donald Trump administration has reduced its involvement in efforts to close loopholes for circumventing sanctions on Russia.

As reported by Bloomberg, the officials, who asked not to be named, said the United States was practically absent from several working groups set up by allies to combat attempts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Kremlin.

The officials said the US had largely been unresponsive to the activities of one group, which focuses on preventing the Russians from obtaining parts and equipment used to make weapons. Another group, in which the US does not participate, is dedicated to monitoring and enforcing the G7's price cap on Russian oil.

The sources noted that it was unclear whether the US had made an active decision to wind down its participation or whether it simply lacked key personnel. They added that some of the meetings had been attended by junior officials with little decision-making power.

The sanctions imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine are becoming a major point of tension between Washington and Kyiv's European allies as President Donald Trump presses for an end to the conflict.

Trump said he would be ready to increase sanctions against Russia if Moscow did not seriously engage in peace talks. European officials said there had been few signs of preparations for such a move, and it is unclear what actions, if any, the US is taking to combat the circumvention of existing measures.

However, earlier this month, the Trump administration did tighten its restrictions by allowing some banks to suspend their licences to make energy-related payments. The US had already withdrawn from the KleptoCapture working group, established by the Biden administration with a broad mandate to take action against Russia, in February.

Since the sanctions regime took shape in 2022, the US and its allies have created a number of working groups and task forces to coordinate their efforts to ensure compliance. All of them see limiting Moscow's access to technology and parts needed for warfare goods as a top priority and pay particular attention to cutting off trade routes through third countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and India, that Russia uses.

This work includes joint activities, sanctions against companies in third countries that help Moscow, and diplomatic pressure on these countries to close trade routes. The officials said the UK, the European Union and other G7 allies continue to coordinate these efforts.

It was reported earlier that several US national security agencies had stopped working on coordinated efforts to counter Russian sabotage, disinformation and cyberattacks, easing pressure on Moscow amid the Trump administration's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

At the end of February, it was reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered US Cyber Command, a Pentagon unit, to stop planning offensive cyber operations against Russia. Other news outlets soon confirmed this report.