President Donald Trump, at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, stated that the US would impose “very tough tariffs” on Russia if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached within 50 days. This refers to “secondary tariffs” of 100%.
At the same time, Trump reiterated that this is not his war, and America is separated from Europe by an ocean, once again changing his rhetoric towards Vladimir Putin. “I talk to him a lot — about how this needs to stop. I hang up and say, what a wonderful conversation it was. And then missiles fly again. I say it's strange. And when this happens 3-4 times, you realize that these conversations make no sense <...> He's a tough guy. He has fooled many people. Bush, Clinton, Obama, Biden, but he didn't fool me” — said Trump during the meeting with the NATO Secretary General at the White House.
At the meeting with Rutte, agreements were also confirmed that NATO will buy American weapons and transfer them to Kyiv. Among other things, Ukraine will receive 17 Patriot systems, most of which will arrive soon.
The US President clarified that NATO countries will send their own Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, and the US will provide replacements to these countries. NATO will pay for the weapons and will also coordinate the deliveries.
As reported by The New York Times, the threat of imposing 100-percent tariffs by President Trump represents an approach different from the sanctions package that a group of more than 80 senators from both parties in Congress is persistently urging him to adopt. Their proposal is aimed at imposing sanctions on the Russian economy, but at a much higher level: 500% for countries purchasing Russian oil and uranium.
Trump stated that he highly appreciates the work of Republican senators promoting the legislation, but does not support this package of measures.
Investors in Russia expected a harsher statement from Trump. The main Russian stock index rose by about 2.5% in the first 30 minutes after his speech.
Photo: The New York Times