President Trump said on Friday that he was “strongly considering” imposing sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a cease-fire and permanent peace deal is reached in its war against Ukraine.
In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said he was “strongly considering” what he described as “large scale” sanctions, due to perilous state of the war, now in its fourth year.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Mr. Trump wrote. “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
Such a move would be another turnabout for Mr. Trump’s management of the war in Ukraine. He has spent weeks aligning himself with President Vladimir Putin’s narrative of the war, criticizing Ukraine for being invaded by Russia, and he recently halted U.S. aid to Kyiv and intelligence sharing after a tense Oval Office meeting last week with President Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky have spent recent days smoothing over relations following the eruption, which resulted in Mr. Zelensky’s leaving the White House without signing a deal that would grant the United States a share of its revenues from mining rare earth metals.
Mr. Trump has insisted on the minerals deal, which he considers reimbursement for the more than $100 billion in military aid the U.S. has provided to the country to stave off Russia — is critical to the U.S.’s continued investment in bringing peace in the region. Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky have both indicated they were still interested in signing the deal.
But Mr. Trump has spoken sparingly about Russia’s role in the war, and what it ultimately wants to broker a peace deal. Russian officials met last month with top Trump officials in Saudi Arabia as Russia has signaled an openness to talks, though it has not said if it would accept a cease-fire or an agreement to end the war.
Moscow has given no public indication it would accept any truce, cease-fire or end to the war it launched three years ago. U.S. officials have said Russia had shown openness to continuing discussions.
Ivan Nechepurenko (Tbilisi) and Nataliya Vasilyeva (Istanbul) contributed reporting.
Trump, Donald J,Zelensky, Volodymyr,Foreign Aid
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