President Trump said on Friday that he was “considering strongly” in imposing sanctions and definitions on Russia until a permanent and permanent peace agreement was reached in its war with Ukraine, even when he defended Russia’s attacks on Ukraine after the United States stopped aid and intelligence participation.
He was asked in the Oval Office on Friday about whether he believed that Mr. Putin was taking advantage of the situation, which resulted from the present tense The Oval Office meeting With President Voludmir Zelinski from Ukraine last month, Mr. Trump defended the actions of Mr. Putin, saying, “He will do what anyone else will do.”
Mr. Trump said: “I think he is hitting him with more force than he hit,” said Mr. Trump. “I think anyone in this situation may do this now.”
This was the latest face of Mr. Trump, hours after the threat of sanctions, but also a return to align himself with President Vladimir F. Putin on the war. In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has falsely accused Kiev of starting it, although Ukraine has been invaded by Russia, and accused Mr. Zelinski of “the dictator” who did not want peace.
Mr. Trump’s comments came hours after Russia I fired angry bombardment It aims to critical Ukrainian infrastructure overnight on Thursday and Friday. Germany’s Energy Minister Galuchenko said that Russian forces launched a “huge missile and drone” at power and gas facilities throughout the country.
In a publication in the early morning, Mr. Trump announced on his social media site, that he “is strongly thinking” in imposing what he described as “large -scale” sanctions, including banks, because of the risky state of war, now in its fourth year.
“Based on the fact that Russia is” bombing “Ukraine absolutely in the battlefield at the present time, I am strongly thinking about banking sanctions on a large scale, sanctions and definitions of Russia until the final stop and settlement agreement is reached,” says Mr. Trump. “For Russia and Ukraine, move to the table now, before it is too late.”
Mr. Trump did not clarify his plan for new sanctions on Russia to surround the Oval Office on Friday.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Zellinski spent the last days homogeneous tensions after the explosive oval office meeting, which led to Mr. Zellinski’s departure from the White House without signing a deal that would give the United States a share of its mining revenues Rare Earth metals.
After the meeting, The United States stopped military aid To Kyiv, as well as intelligence sharing, to pressure Ukraine to resume negotiations. In his post on Friday, Mr. Trump urged Mr. Putin and Mr. Zellinski to “reach the table at the present time, before it is too late.”
But even when Mr. Trump prepared Russia responsible as the aggressor in the war, the president continued to agree with Moscow’s view of what it eventually required for the mediator.
In his oval office notes on Friday, Mr. Trump said he believed that Mr. Putin wants to end the war and will be “more generous than he should be.” Mr. Trump also suggested that it was Ukraine that would be difficult to work with for a peace agreement.
He said: “With regard to a final settlement, it may be easier to deal with Russia, and this is surprising, because they have all the cards, and they come out of hell now.”
Mr. Trump also said that he would not provide air defenses to prevent “bombing” Russia until he knows that Ukraine will “settle”.
He said: “If they do not want to settle, we are outside there, because we want them to settle.”
Russian officials met last month with Trump’s senior officials in the Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaAlthough Russia has not given any general indication that it would accept any truce, stop or end the war that started three years ago.
But US officials said that Russia showed openness to continuous discussions. On Thursday, Mr. Trump said He believes that they will make a deal because “in a different different way – a different way I only know, I just know – they have no choice.”
The Biden Administration imposed several sanctions on Moscow, seeking to paralyze the Russian economy and suffocate its financing for its invasion, Recently targets the Russian energy sector And “shadow fleet” from oil tankers.
Mr. Trump’s announcement came on Friday, as many business leaders and government officials in Moscow expressed their optimism that US sanctions will bring soon.
The head of the main industrial pressure group in Russia said on Friday that he discussed the lifting of sanctions with the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. Alexander Shokin, head of the pressure group, a Russian government news agency, said.
But Oleg Kozmin, the chief economist in Renaissance Capital, an investment bank in Moscow, said that the threats of Mr. Trump on Friday made it clear that “the situation is still not certain, and the future is not written.”
Since the United States has imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time in more than a decade, Moscow has sharpened the art of defrauding it. Russian cities are full of western goods, whether they are luxury cars or daily consumer elements. With the help of the third countries – the most important of all, Russian companies, among Russian companies, including airlines, were able to buy new equipment and serve their old parts.
The United States can still try to target the “shadow fleet” in Russia for the carriers that Moscow uses to connect oil to its customers. But this step is likely to increase the price of oil. In order for any oil sanctions to be completely effective, the United States will need to seek cooperation from China and India, which has emerged as the best buyers of Russian crude.
US and Ukrainian officials confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine will send a delegation to meet “military representatives of countries that are ready for more efforts to ensure security in a framework within the framework of ending this war.”
Mr. Zelinski said that the Ukrainians will insist on a meeting next week on Russia’s obligations to test whether a permanent peace can be reached in the end. These demands include Russian pledges not to attack Ukraine or other civil infrastructure; A truce for missiles, bombs and long -range drones; There are no military operations in the Black Sea. Mr. Zellinski said the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, but it was not determined by those who would attend.
“The Ukrainians really want peace, but not at the expense of abandoning Ukraine,” said Mr. Zellinski. “The real question of any negotiations is whether Russia is able to abandon the war.”
Ivan Nichibornko contributed to reports from Tbilisi, Georgia and Natalia Vasilieva from Istanbul.
