GASTECH-Trump prioritising end to Ukraine war over Russia LNG sanctions, US energy secretary says

By Marwa Rashad, Francesca Landini and Emily Chow

MILAN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's priority is to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end, without larger disruptions, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday when asked how the U.S. would react to Chinese purchases of sanctioned Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes.

"President Trump's single greatest goal is prosperity in America and peace abroad," Wright said in a press conference at the Gastech conference in Milan. "He's looking at every possible avenue to get that war to end without overly large disruption".

Trump held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in mid-August and subsequently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and key European and NATO alliance leaders.

Following those meetings, Trump said he expected Zelenskiy and Putin to hold a bilateral meeting before a trilateral meeting that would also include Trump, but this has not happened yet.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Trump has urged European Union officials to hit China with tariffs of up to 100% as part of a strategy to pressure Putin, according to a U.S. official and an EU diplomat.

Trump also encouraged the EU to slap India with similarly expansive tariffs, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

China and India are major purchasers of Russian oil and, as such, they play a vital role in keeping Russia's economy afloat as it continues to pursue its expanded invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.

Arctic LNG 2, which was set to become one of Russia's largest LNG plants, with eventual output of 19.8 million metric tons per year, had been included in Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine, and has struggled to sell LNG from the project despite beginning production and loading cargoes in August 2024.

Three cargoes from the project have discharged in China so far this year.