On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine, threatening more severe economic sanctions if Moscow does not consent to a ceasefire.
As the Republican looks for a speedy resolution to a vexing dispute that he had pledged to resolve before even beginning his second term, Trump issued the warning in a Truth Social post.
“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.
According to him, 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.”
In addition, he said, “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.”
Since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has already been subject to crippling US sanctions, and trade has fallen to a sluggish pace.
Earlier this month, the government of Joe Biden, Trump’s predecessor, sanctioned Moscow’s energy industry in widespread ways.
However, it is said that Trump, a wealthy businessman who gained notoriety for his book “The Art of the Deal,” and his team think there are ways to impose more stringent restrictions on Putin.
From January to November 2024, the US Department of Commerce reports that the United States imported $2.9 billion worth of goods from Russia, a significant decrease from $4.3 billion during the same period in 2023.
Precious metals and fertilisers are two of Russia’s top imports to the US.
Trump took the harshest stance against Putin since he returned to the White House this week, amid concerns that he might use force to force a peace agreement from Kyiv rather than Moscow.
Trump stated simply that it “sounds likely” that he would impose new penalties if Putin did not attend a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
The US president did not, however, state if he will carry on Biden’s strategy of providing Ukraine with billions of dollars’ worth of weapons.
He stated at the news conference, “We’re looking at that, we’re talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, we’re going to be talking to President Putin very soon.”
Trump has also stated that he anticipates another meeting with Putin, whom he met with in Helsinki during his first term.
Trump had predicted that he would use aid to pressure Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow by vowing to finish the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” of starting his new inauguration on Monday.
His anticipated breakthrough, however, has not materialised.
Trump suggested that Putin was “destroying Russia by not making a deal” in remarks that were unusually scathing of the Russian leader on Monday.
Zelensky had informed Trump that he want a peace deal to put an end to the conflict, Trump continued.
Trump was congratulated by Putin on his inauguration on Monday for a second term.
Adding that he believed any settlement would guarantee “lasting peace,” the Russian leader said he was “open to dialogue” with Trump’s incoming US government on the Ukraine crisis.
Putin, whose hyper-masculine demeanour and claimed adherence to traditional values have gained favour among certain US Christian conservatives, has been lauded by Trump on numerous occasions.
The FBI and US special counsel Robert Mueller both looked into claims of collaboration between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, which Trump again referred to as the “Russia hoax” in his statement on Wednesday.
Mueller found no proof of the Trump campaign’s illegal coordination with Russia, despite convicting six individuals of the campaign.