US President Donald Trump has warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to end the ‘ridiculous war’ in Ukraine or face higher tariffs and further sanctions.
Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th President of America on January 20, said this on his owned social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday.
Trump took on Russian President Putin by name in a social media post, arguing that he and Putin have always had good relations, but now it is time to settle “this ridiculous war!”
Trump said he wanted to harm Russia and prevent more deaths in the war.
Trump said, “Let’s end this war that would never have started if I was president! We can do it the easy way or the hard way – and the easier way is always better. Now to “compromise.” The time has come. No more lives should be lost!”
He said, “I love the Russian people and I have always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this is despite the radical left’s Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. We must never forget that Russia gave us “Helped win World War II, which cost about 60,000,000 lives.”
They also warned that if a ceasefire agreement is not reached soon, they will have no other option but to impose tariffs, taxes and sanctions on any goods Russia sells to the United States and other partner countries.
Trump made an open appeal to the Russian leader, saying, “Having said all that, I’m going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin a huge favor. Make a deal right now, and end this ridiculous war.” Stop! It’s going to get even worse. If we don’t make a “deal” soon, I’ll have higher levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything Russia sells to the United States and other partner countries. There is no option but to put it in.”
The Biden administration imposed a series of sanctions on various Russian economic sectors, including its oil and energy sectors, earlier this month in an effort to cut off Russia’s revenues for funding the war in Ukraine.
Trump has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine for months and urged both sides to talk. Russian forces invaded Ukraine in early 2022 and both sides have suffered heavy losses in the nearly three-year-long war since then.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly said that if he were elected president he could resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day. He claimed that Putin would never have invaded if Trump had been president, National Public Radio reported.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was ready to meet with Putin at any time, but warned that he would potentially impose sanctions on Russia if it did not come to the table over Ukraine.
When asked by reporters whether the US would impose additional sanctions on Russia if Putin did not come to the negotiating table, Trump said, “Looks like so.”
Trump also said that Ukrainian President Zelensky told him he wanted peace.
He said, “They have told me they want peace, but it takes two people. We will see what happens. I will meet them whenever they want. I want this to end. Millions of people They are being killed. It is a terrible situation.”
