An unidentified administration official said the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on Russia and that the administration remains interested in diplomatic engagement with Moscow.

Asked what changed since a previously discussed meeting in Budapest, the official said, “we'd still like to meet with the Russians. We'd still wanna and I think I thought I had a good call with sec sec foreign minister Lavrov, and we'll follow-up on that.” The official added, “Today was the day he decided to do something,” referring to the president's choice to impose sanctions.

The official did not provide details on the sanctions themselves or the specific Treasury actions beyond confirming they had been announced earlier in the day. He said the administration would continue to seek diplomatic avenues where useful but that the president “will have to do something if we don't make progress on the peace deal.”

No additional legal citations or sanction details were provided in the briefing.