Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to reach a peace deal with Ukraine, threatening to impose harsher sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not agree to end the ongoing war.
Trump’s warning came in a post on Truth Social as he seeks a swift resolution to the conflict, which he had pledged to resolve before beginning his second term.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to impose high taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything Russia exports to the United States and other countries involved,” Trump stated.
He emphasized that while he was not trying to harm Russia, he urged Putin to settle the war, warning that Russia’s economy, already struggling, would only worsen without a resolution.
Trump further asserted, “Let’s end this war, which 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.”
The United States has already imposed severe sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, significantly slowing trade between the two nations.
The Biden administration imposed additional sanctions earlier this month targeting Russia’s energy sector.
However, Trump, known for his business acumen and his book The Art of the Deal, indicated that his administration would find ways to tighten the pressure on Russia.
Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that imports from Russia dropped from $4.3 billion in 2023 to $2.9 billion between January and November 2024.
Trump’s comments mark his strongest stance against Putin since returning to office this week.
In contrast to previous remarks where he hinted at potentially pressuring Ukraine into negotiations, this time he directly called for Putin to act.
On Tuesday, Trump mentioned that additional sanctions were “likely” if Russia did not engage in peace talks.
Despite his tough words on sanctions, Trump did not clarify whether he would continue sending military aid to Ukraine, which has been a major policy of the Biden administration.
He also expressed plans to meet with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin soon to discuss the war.
Trump had previously promised during his inauguration to end the war within 24 hours of taking office.
His administration had hoped to leverage sanctions or other measures to push Ukraine into making territorial concessions to Russia, but such a breakthrough has yet to materialize.
In a rare critical statement about Putin on Monday, Trump said the Russian president was “destroying Russia by not making a deal,” adding that Zelensky had told him he wanted peace.
Putin, meanwhile, congratulated Trump on his second-term inauguration and expressed openness to dialogue with the new administration, hoping for a lasting peace agreement.
Trump has long been a supporter of Putin, admiring his leadership style, which has found resonance among some American conservatives.
Despite investigations into possible collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, which resulted in convictions of six campaign associates, Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, labeling the investigation as the “Russia hoax.”
