Trump says he is contemplating Russia sanctions and tariffs till ceasefire is reached with Ukraine
Washington — President Trump mentioned Friday that he’s “strongly contemplating” imposing sanctions and tariffs on Russia till it agrees to a ceasefire and peace deal that might halt Moscow’s three-year warfare with Ukraine.
Mr. Trump’s publish on his social media platform, Fact Social, seems to be in response to drone and missile assaults launched on Ukrainian vitality services Friday. The president mentioned that as a result of Russia is “completely ‘pounding'” Ukraine, “I’m strongly contemplating massive scale banking sanctions, sanctions and tariffs on Russia till a stop fireplace and last settlement settlement on peace is reached.”
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the desk proper now, earlier than it’s too late,” Mr. Trump wrote.
The president’s threats of tariffs and sanctions are the primary indication he’s weighing adversarial motion in opposition to Russia since his tense assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the White Home one week in the past. However Mr. Trump advised reporters within the Oval Workplace on Friday that he’s “discovering it tougher, frankly, to take care of Ukraine, and so they do not have the playing cards.”
“I discover that when it comes to getting a last settlement, it might be simpler coping with Russia — which is stunning — as a result of they’ve all of the playing cards,” he mentioned.
The president acknowledged that Ukraine is taking “super punishment” from Russia’s air assaults however appeared to defend Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling reporters that he’s “doing what anyone else would do.”
“I feel he desires to get it stopped and settled and assume he is hitting it more durable than he is been hitting them,” Mr. Trump mentioned of Putin. “I feel most likely anyone in that place can be doing that proper now. He desires to get it ended, and I feel Ukraine desires to get it ended.”
Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy had been on observe final week to signal a key uncommon earth minerals settlement and maintain a information convention on the White Home, however the Ukrainian chief’s go to ended abruptly after an Oval Workplace assembly between the 2 and high U.S. and Ukrainian officers grew to become brazenly contentious.
The president advised Zelenskyy on the assembly that he ought to attain a ceasefire take care of Russia or “we’re out,” and Vice President JD Vance accused Ukraine’s chief of being “disrespectful” and never sufficiently grateful for U.S. help of its efforts to fight Russia’s aggression.
Within the wake of the assembly, Mr. Trump paused U.S. navy assist to Ukraine and intelligence sharing.
However negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine look like resuming, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White Home nationwide safety adviser Michael Waltz set to move to Saudi Arabia subsequent week for discussions with a Ukrainian delegation, Waltz mentioned Friday.
“We had preliminary engagement with the Russians, the Ukrainians had a fantastic alternative to bind our economies collectively by that mineral deal,” Waltz advised reporters on the White Home. “Sadly that did not go so nicely, however we predict we will get issues again on observe.” Mr. Trump additionally mentioned NATO Secretary Common Rutte can be coming for a go to subsequent week.
Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s particular envoy to the Center East, advised reporters Wednesday that the objective is to “get down a framework for a peace settlement and an preliminary ceasefire.”
Individually, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned throughout a speech Thursday that the Trump administration has stored enhanced sanctions on Russia in place “and won’t hesitate to go ‘all in,’ ought to it present leverage in peace negotiations,” in keeping with Reuters.
Zelenskyy, in the meantime, mentioned step one towards reaching peace is for Russia to cease its assaults.
“Ukraine is able to pursue the trail to peace, and it’s Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this warfare. The duty is to pressure Russia to cease the warfare,” he wrote on social media Friday.
