US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev a "Russian propagandist" following Dmitriev's claims that Western sanctions have not harmed Russia's economy.

Source: Bessent in an interview with CBS News, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The presenter asked Bessent to comment on Dmitriev's claim that the latest US sanctions would have "absolutely no effect on Russia's economy".

"Well, I think Russia is going to feel the pain immediately. I can tell you that we've already seen India has done a complete halt of Russian oil purchases. Many of the Chinese refineries have stopped," Bessent said.

He then referred to Dmitriev as "a Russian propagandist", adding that he is incapable of speaking honestly about the real impact of sanctions on Russia's economy.

"Of course, the Russian economy is a wartime economy. Growth is virtually zero. Inflation, I believe, is over 20% and everything we do is going to bring Putin to the table. It's oil that funds the Russian war machine, and I think we can make a substantial dent in his profits," Bessent said.

He also stated that Russia has been unable to immunise its economy against sanctions and that its oil revenues are down 20% on last year, and the new sanctions could reduce them by another 20 or 30%.

Background :

• On 22 October, the Trump administration imposed sanctions against Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, and urged Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in the war against Ukraine.
• Following the sanctions announcement, Indian oil refineries reportedly began reviewing their suppliers, and some Chinese companies have at least temporarily paused purchases of Russian oil.

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