US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that Washington is ready to “increase the pressure” on Russia to force Moscow to the table for peace talks in Ukraine.

Bessent said this after Russia launched its largest air strike against Ukraine overnight since invading more than three years ago, despite efforts by US President Donald Trump to halt the fighting.

Speaking on NBC, Bessent said that Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, had a “very productive call” with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, and that he had also spoken with the EU leader. “We’re talking about what both the EU and the US can do together. And we’re ready to increase the pressure on Russia,” Bessent said. "But we need our European partners to follow us," he added.

Trump threatened to penalize countries that buy Russian oil, thereby cutting off a key source of funding for the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. But so far, only India has been affected by so-called secondary sanctions.

"If the United States and the EU succeed in imposing more secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, the Russian economy will collapse. And that will force President Putin to the negotiating table," Bessent said.