Bessent Says US Expects Japan to Stop Russian Energy Imports

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration expects Japan to stop importing energy from Russia, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato during a meeting on Wednesday, according to a post on X.

While the US is ramping up efforts to reduce Moscow’s energy sales to stem its main source of funds for the war in Ukraine, Japan has often said that it doesn’t plan to stop buying Russian liquefied natural gas on energy security grounds. The Asian nation got about 8% of its LNG imports from Russia last year. 

Kato declined to comment on the specifics of the meeting, but said at a press conference that Japan’s “basic stance is to work closely with the G7 toward achieving a just peace in Ukraine, and to do everything we can within that framework.” Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven that hasn’t halted or committed to ending Russian gas imports.

The two also discussed plans for mobilizing Japan’s strategic investment in the US through a trade agreement and issues pertaining to the economic relationship between the countries, Bessent said in the post on X. 

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