The US President has vowed to punish Moscow if NATO members follow suit and stop buying Russian oil.
“I am ready to severely punish Russia when all NATO countries agree and do the same, and as soon as they stop buying oil from Russia,” US President Donald Trump said in a post on the social network Truth Social today, calling it a “letter to NATO and the world”.
Mr. Trump has expressed “shock” that NATO member countries are still buying Russian oil, saying that this affects the alliance’s voice at the negotiating table.
“In any case, I am ready to ‘act’ when you are ready. Just say when?”, the US President said and asked NATO to give a specific time.
He also suggested that NATO members consider imposing 50-100% tariffs on Chinese goods, considering this a measure to promote an end to the conflict in Ukraine. “If you do what I say, the war will end quickly. If not, you are just wasting my time,” the US President said.
Russian and NATO officials have not commented on the information.
After returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has stepped up mediation efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The US President held a summit with his Russian counterpart on August 15 in Alaska, then met with European leaders and President Zelensky at the White House on August 18.
The events raised expectations for a direct meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky to discuss measures to end the war. The leaders of Russia and Ukraine initially expressed their readiness for this option, but subsequent developments showed that the prospect of peace talks is very fragile.
President Trump said on September 2 that he was “very disappointed” that Putin had not yet reached a peace deal with Ukraine. Mr Zelensky accused Russia of doing everything possible to obstruct a summit between the two leaders, while Moscow said the agenda for such a meeting was not yet ready.
President Putin warned last week that Russia would resume a special operation to end the conflict in Ukraine by force if the sides failed to reach a peace deal. The Kremlin said on September 12 that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were “on hold”, accusing Europe of obstructing efforts to end the fighting.
In an interview with Fox News the same day, Mr Trump said he was running out of patience with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine conflict, warning that the US “could take strong action”.
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