Donald Trump has threatened Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal is not reached soon to end the war in Ukraine, as the new US president steps up pressure on Moscow to open talks with Kiev. try to
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said Russia’s economy was failing and urged Vladimir Putin to “settle now and stop this ridiculous war.”
Without a deal, Trump said “I have no choice but to impose high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything that Russia sells to the United States and other partner countries.” “
The statement marks Trump’s most detailed effort yet to end the war in Ukraine.
“Let’s start this war, which would never have started if I were president, over! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way — and the easy way is always better,” he said.
Trump pledged to end the war before taking office during his presidential campaign. Asked on Monday how long it would take to do so, he said: “I have to talk to President Putin. We’ll have to find out.”
US media reported this week that Trump has directed his special envoy, Keith Kellogg, to end the war within 100 days.
Top Russian officials have shown an unusual willingness to talk with Trump in recent statements. Putin praised his readiness to “restore direct ties with Russia” on Monday.
In what appears to be an appeal to Trump’s well-documented penchant for flattery, Putin has called him a hero on two occasions, citing the July 1 assassination attack against him at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. .
In contrast, Trump’s rhetoric against Russia has been harsher, his harshest public criticism yet of Putin and his leadership.
Asked about the war in Ukraine shortly after taking the oath of office on Monday, Trump said his Russian counterpart was destroying Russia by refusing to negotiate a ceasefire.
“He can’t be excited, he’s not doing so well,” he told reporters, referring to Putin’s war. “Russia is bigger, it has more troops to lose, but that’s no way to run a country.”
Trump nevertheless wrote on Wednesday that he had “always had a very good relationship” with Putin and that he was “not looking to change Russia”.
Trump’s latest remarks underscore the unease many in Moscow’s elite feel about his unpredictability, which has led to a cautious response since his re-election.
Alexander Coates, a high-profile pro-war correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda, wrote on Telegram that Trump had issued an ultimatum to Putin.
“As I’ve said before, it’s best to be prepared for the worst. Soon, we’ll be looking back on Biden’s term with melting nostalgia.
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Speaking to state media earlier on Wednesday, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Moscow saw a “small window of opportunity” to strike deals with the Trump administration.
However, the Kremlin has signaled that it is in no rush to sign a peace deal.
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, reacted strongly to Trump’s comments. “This is not just a question of ending the war. It is first and foremost a question of solving the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis,” he said.
“So we have to see what President Trump understands ‘deal’ to mean.”
Putin has repeatedly presented a more radical stance in recent months for an end to the war, demanding that Ukraine not join NATO, and that it adopt neutral status and some degree of non-military action. passed He has insisted the West lift its sanctions against Russia and says it seeks to retain control of Crimea and four regions of Ukraine claimed by Moscow in 2022.
In a show of force, Putin has held talks over the past few days with two of his key allies in his fight against the West. He hosted Iranian President Massoud Pezhashkian in Moscow on Friday and spoke via video link with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday.
Trump’s latest statement on the war in Ukraine specifically omitted any mention of providing additional weapons to Kiev, instead signaling a shift toward deploying economic measures against Moscow. .
Given the dwindling trade relationship between the US and Russia, the effectiveness of Trump’s direct threat of tariffs is uncertain, although Washington has previously introduced a series of broad sanctions that have hurt Russia’s economy.
Trump administration officials have previously indicated that they believe the United States could further target Russia’s economy by imposing sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political analysis firm R.Politik; said Despite Trump’s efforts to force Putin to negotiate, the Russian leader appeared convinced he had the resources to defeat Ukraine.
“A peace deal on Russian terms would save significant resources, but in the absence of such a deal, Putin is prepared to fight as long as it takes,” he wrote on X.
He also wrote that Russia’s current economic situation is unlikely to force Putin to negotiate with Ukraine. “If the Kremlin concludes that a favorable deal is not being reached with Trump, they will likely focus on prolonging the conflict,” he added.
