Trump stepped up the pressure on Russian counterpart Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine.
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump stepped up the pressure on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine Wednesday , threatening tougher economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the war.
Trump's warning in a Truth Social post came as the Republican seeks a quick solution to a grinding conflict that he had promised to end before even starting his second term. "If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries," Trump said. Trump said he was "not looking to hurt Russia" and had "always had a very good relationship with President Putin," a leader for whom he has expressed admiration in the past. "All of that being said, I'm going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE." He added: "Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It’s time to 'MAKE A DEAL.'" Russia already faces crushing US sanctions over the war since invading Ukraine in 2022 and trade has slowed to a trickle. Trump's predecessor Joe Biden's administration imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow's energy sector earlier this month. But Trump - a billionaire tycoon famed for his book The Art of the Deal - and his administration reportedly believe there are ways of toughening measures to press Putin. The United States imported US$2.9 billion in goods from Russia from January to November 2024 - down sharply from US$4.3 billion over the same period in 2023, according to the US Department of Commerce.It was Trump's toughest line on Putin since he returned to the White House this week, and comes despite fears that it was Kyiv rather than Moscow that he would strongarm into making a peace deal. During a White House press conference on Tuesday Trump said only that it "sounds likely" that he would apply additional sanctions if Putin did not come to the table. The US president however declined to say whether he would continue Biden's policy of sending billions of dollars in weaponry to help Ukraine. "We're looking at that," he said at the press conference. "We're talking to Zelenskyy, we're going to be talking to President Putin very soon." Trump has also said he expects to meet Putin - with whom he had a summit in his first term in Helsinki - soon. Prior to beginning his new inauguration on Monday, Trump had vowed to end the Ukraine war "within 24 hours" and before even taking office, raising expectations he would leverage aid to force Kyiv to make territorial concessions to Moscow.In unusually critical remarks of Putin on Monday, Trump said the Russian president was "destroying Russia by not making a deal".Putin congratulated Trump on his inauguration for a second term on Monday. The Russian leader added that he was "open to dialogue" on the Ukraine conflict with Trump's incoming US administration, adding he hoped any settlement would ensure "lasting peace". Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, whose hyper-masculine style and professed attachment to traditional values has increasingly found favour among some US Christian conservatives. US special counsel Robert Mueller and the FBI both investigated alleged collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign - which Trump in his post on Wednesday dubbed once again the "Russia hoax". Mueller won convictions of six members of the Trump campaign but said he found no evidence of criminal cooperation with Russia by the Trump campaign.Yemen's Houthi rebels release crew of commercial vessel seized in Red Sea in November 2023South Korea's Yoon defends his martial law decree in his first public appearance since his arrestLong forgotten, Black servicemen who died in WWI are finally honored with a memorial in South AfricaNo negotiations if govt fails to respond in 7 days, warns PTI's Ali ZafarI am happy that for the first time in the history of Punjab, a minority card has been launched: Maryam Nawaz190m pounds scam was an open and shut case: Atta TararOur forces are so capable that they defeated the superpower. Ali Amin Gandapur
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine War: Trump Says Arranging Meeting With PutinUS President-Elect Donald Trump has said that he is arranging a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the ongoing war in Ukraine. During his meeting with Republican Governors at his Mar-A-Lago Resort in Palm Beach Florida, Donald Trump said we are in the process of setting up a meeting with the Russian President.
Read more »
Tougher US sanctions to curb Russian oil supply to China and IndiaIndia's crude imports are 36% of its total imports, while China's import is 20% of its total imports
Read more »
Trump advisers concede Ukraine peace deal is months awayRussia has also sent mixed signals regarding a possible peace deal, welcoming talks with Trump
Read more »
Russia says any British military role in Ukraine under new 100-year deal would be worryingRussia says any British military role in Ukraine under new 100-year deal would be worrying
Read more »
Reversal Of A Major Policy Action: Trump Cancels Sanctions On Israeli Settlers In West BankU.S. President Donald Trump rescinded sanctions imposed by the Former Biden administration on Far-Ri...
Read more »
Trump says he would sanction Russia if Putin does not negotiate on UkraineThe US has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
Read more »