US President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform “Truth Social” on Wednesday, the 22nd of January, that he would add new tariffs to the threat of sanctions against Russia if it did not negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, adding that they could also be imposed on “other countries involved” and that he was doing Russia and its president “a very big favour” by trying to resolve the war, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
On Tuesday, Trump told a press conference that he would speak to Putin “very soon” and that he would “most likely” impose more sanctions if Russian leader Vladimir Putin did not come to the negotiating table.
But on Wednesday, in a Truth Social post, he went even further.
“I will do Russia, whose economy is collapsing, and President Putin a very big FAVOUR,” he wrote.
“Settle now and stop this ridiculous war! IT’S ONLY GETTING WORSE. If we don’t reach a ‘deal’, and soon, I have no choice but to impose high taxes, tariffs and sanctions on everything Russia sells to the US and other countries involved.”
Trump did not specify in his statement which countries he considers to be parties to the conflict and how he defines complicity.
“Let’s end this war that would never have started if I were President! 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’,” he continued.
Former President Joe Biden’s administration has imposed harsh sanctions on thousands of Russian companies in banking, defence, manufacturing, energy, technology and other sectors since the 2022 invasion.
Russia has not responded to Trump’s recent remarks, but senior officials have indicated that talks with the new US administration could take place. Putin has said he is ready to end the war, but only if Ukraine accepts Russia’s territorial gains, currently around 20% of its territory, and agrees not to join NATO.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said Moscow would have to see what Trump meant by an “agreement” to end the war in Ukraine.
“It’s not just a question of ending the war,” Polyanskiy told Reuters. “It is first and foremost a question of addressing the root causes of the Ukraine crisis.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that at least 200 000 peacekeepers would be needed in any case. He told Bloomberg that at least some of the peacekeepers in his country would also have to be US forces to actually deter Russia.
While Ukrainian leaders might appreciate this tougher stance from Trump – they have always said that Putin only understands force – the initial reaction in Kyiv to the US President’s comments suggests that people are waiting for action, not words.
Trump has not specified where and when more economic penalties might be imposed. Since 2022, Russian imports to the US have fallen sharply. Currently, Russia exports mainly phosphate fertilisers and platinum to the US.
Meanwhile, there are signs in Moscow that the Kremlin may be preparing the Russians to accept less than the “victory” they once hoped for.
TV editor Margarita Simonyan, who is strongly pro-Putin, has started talking about “realistic” conditions for ending the war, which she believes could include a cessation of fighting along the current front line.
Russia’s hardliners, the so-called “Z” bloggers, are outraged by this “defeat”.
In Trump’s post, threats of sanctions and tariffs were interspersed with praise for Russian citizens, although he exaggerated the Soviet Union’s losses in the WWII, ignoring the fact that the war also killed people from countries other than Russia. Although he once “understood” Russia’s concerns about Ukraine’s NATO membership, his tone now seems to have changed.
Trump’s position is important. But after 11 years of war with Russia and a history of bad peace agreements, Ukrainians are not very hopeful.