According to a tweet posted by X user @__Inty__ on October 19, 2026, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that after the two sides reached a diesel-related agreement, the U.S. side did not lift or ease any sanctions on Russia.
According to reports, in the relevant interview, in response to Ukrainian President Zelensky’s question about the possibility of the United States slowing down Starlink service speeds, Trump administration official Bessent explicitly denied it. Bessent said that President Trump himself had nothing to do with the matter, and that both Trump and Rubio have publicly stated that no one in the Trump administration ordered restrictions on Starlink services for Ukraine.
According to a tweet posted by @clashreport, Bessent publicly questioned NATO member states while discussing the situation in Ukraine. He pointed out that when Ukrainian President Zelensky requested assistance with Patriot missile systems, European NATO member states had ample stockpiles but did not actively provide them. He specifically singled out Germany to question its stance and actions on providing aid.
On October 18, 2026, in response to Ukrainian President Zelensky's earlier claim that intelligence sharing had been interrupted, Bessent said in his reply that Zelensky should be very careful when making such false statements. The incident reflects the public disagreements and diplomatic friction between the United States and Ukraine on the issue of intelligence cooperation.
According to X account @clashreport, Bessent noted in his comments that European countries are still funding Russia's war machine. He drew a comparison, saying that the United States imports about $4 billion worth of Russian products each year, of which $1.8 billion is fertilizer, while European countries' imports are more than ten times that of the United States.
According to a tweet posted by the account @clashreport, Bessent said when discussing the Russia issue that during President Trump's tenure, sanctions were imposed on Russia's two largest energy companies, calling the move a devastating blow to Russia's energy industry, and used this to argue that Trump had taken a tough stance on sanctions against Russia.
According to a tweet posted by @clashreport, Bessent publicly stated that he had requested European allies in the spring to join the U.S. in imposing secondary tariffs on China and India, but was rejected by the European side. Bessent questioned this, arguing that the U.S. should not bear the associated economic burden alone.
In a statement submitted to the World Bank, Bessent welcomed the bank's gradual phase-out of sovereign lending to countries that have met graduation criteria, such as China.
On October 3, US Treasury Secretary Bessent said in an interview that Kimi sent some People's Liberation Army weapons development programs back to Anthropic, calling the matter a big help, and believing that this made China realize that AI is a very powerful technology.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said on a social media platform on October 1 that, due to the U.S. military blockade and mounting economic pressure on the Iranian regime, Tehran failed to export any crude oil in September.
On September 24, the South China Morning Post cited sources as saying a small group of Chinese corporate executives arrived in Washington on their own, separate from Xi Jinping's official delegation, and as of publication it remained unclear whether they would be invited to the state banquet Trump is hosting for Xi; the matter is partly tied to the September 23 negotiations between Bessent and He Lifeng.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent announced that the US and China have agreed to extend the trade truce, originally set to expire on November 10, to January 10, 2027, continuing negotiations on issues such as tariffs, fentanyl, soybeans, and rare earths.
Bessent stated that the US and China have agreed to extend the Busan agreement arrangement from its original date of November 10 to January 10, an extension of two months.
Bessent stated that he and He Lifeng continue to hold substantive talks on U.S.-China economic relations, discussing the continuation of the Busan arrangements and exploring new agreement proposals.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that due to the implementation of severe sanctions, the vast majority of Iran's international flights have been grounded and its aviation ties severed, further isolating Tehran's economy.