Russia’s response to Trump’s threat to impose sanctions and tariffs if the war in Ukraine does not end
Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Drafting
- Author’s title, BBC News World
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, stated this Wednesday that Russia will be subject to “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions” if its president, Vladimir Putin, does not end the war in Ukraine.
The warning was responded to by Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dimitri Polyanskiy, who said the Kremlin would need to know what deal Trump would want to stop the war before Moscow could accept it.
“It’s not simply a question of ending the war,” Polyanskiy told the agency. Reuters. “It is first and foremost the question of addressing the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.”
Trump has been a critic of the war in Ukraine, a conflict that during his campaign he promised to end in a matter of 24 hours.
His statement Wednesday is the first he has made directly on how to approach the war.
What did Trump say and what response was there?
In a post on his social network, Truth Social, Trump said he has “love” for the Russian people and claimed to have a “good relationship” with Putin. But then he issued a warning “STOP this ridiculous War!”
“IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t reach a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything that is sold by Russia to the United States and several other participating countries.”
“It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL’. NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST,” he added.
Image source, Getty Images
It is unclear what further restrictions Trump might impose. Russia is already the most sanctioned country in the world, and there are very few key entities or sectors that are not already subject to US and European restrictions.
In the absence of a direct response from Moscow, Ambassador Polyanskiy expressed openness to knowing what agreement Trump would be proposing to resolve the conflict.
“We have to see what the ‘deal’ means in President Trump’s reasoning. He is not responsible for what the United States has been doing in Ukraine since 2014, turning it into an ‘anti-Russian’ country and arming it for war with us, but “It is now in your power to stop this malicious policy,” he added.
The ambassador was referring to the economic aid of several hundred billion dollars in economic and military resources that the US has provided to the government of Volodymyr Zelensky.
Image source, Getty Images
The 24 hour solution
President Trump has previously made a series of comments about ending the war in Ukraine, from suggesting he could have it “solved” before taking office to saying he could end the conflict in “one day.”
“If I am president, I will have that war resolved in one day, 24 hours,” he told CNN in 2023, something he repeated several times during his campaign for the White House.
“This is a war that urgently needs to be resolved. I will resolve it even before I am president. If I win, when I am president-elect, what I will do is talk to one, talk to the other, I will bring them together,” he defended in the debate for the presidency. in 2024.
So far, the new US president has not established plans for military support for Ukraine, although he has frequently spoken of the need to end the conflict quickly, and has complained about the financial cost it has taken for his country. country.
He has suggested that Ukraine could receive less support under his presidency and has described the Ukrainian president – whom he met last September – as the “greatest trader on Earth” for continuing to obtain aid from multiple countries, including his own.
But on other occasions he has said that they have a good relationship.
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