President Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if war on Ukraine isn’t resolved within 50 days
WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump explained Monday he would punish Russia with tariffs if there isn t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within days the latest example of his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte We re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don t have a deal in days the Republican president announced He stated they would be secondary tariffs meaning they would target Russia s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economic activity I use pact for a lot of things Trump added But it s great for settling wars Besides the tariff threat Trump and Rutte discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for U S weapons European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer them to Ukraine Trump commented there would be billions and billions of dollars purchased Rutte revealed Germany Finland Canada Norway Sweden the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine He explained speed is of the essence here and he reported the shipments should make Putin reconsider peace negotiations Trump exasperated with Putin Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin and after taking office in January repeatedly noted that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal At the same time Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of prolonging the war and called him a dictator without elections But Russia s relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump s patience In April Trump urged Putin to STOP launching deadly barrages on Kyiv and the following month noted in a social media post that the Russian leader has gone absolutely CRAZY as the bombardments continued It just keeps going on and on and on Trump stated on Monday Every night people are dying Meanwhile Trump s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday Zelenskyy disclosed he had a productive conversation with Kellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses joint arms production and purchasing U S weapons in conjunction with European countries as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin We hope for the leadership of the United States because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ambitions are stopped by force Zelenskyy explained on Telegram Talks on sending Patriot missiles Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine s air defenses are struggling to counter June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years with people killed and wounded the U N human rights mission in Ukraine disclosed Russia launched times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year it stated At the same time Russia s bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the -kilometer -mile front line Trump approved the U S is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defense missiles and that the European Union will pay the U S for the various pieces of very sophisticated weaponry While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons individual EU member countries can and are just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems establishment spokesperson Stefan Kornelius revealed Monday in Berlin As far as other European countries financing more systems is concerned that would have to be seen in talks he commented German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was traveling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six Weapons flowing at a record level A top ally of Trump Republican Sen Lindsey Graham of South Carolina mentioned Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia s full-scale invasion It s a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of U S taxpayer money In the coming days you ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves Graham reported on CBS Face the Nation He added One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump And you just watch in the coming days and weeks there s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table Kirill Dmitriev Putin s envoy for international stake who took part in talks with U S agents in Saudi Arabia in February dismissed what he commented were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure Dmitriev explained in a post on Telegram This dialogue will continue despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all workable means
