Donald Trump has given his clearest signal yet that he is determined to end the war in Ukraine, even if it means imposing fresh sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign a lasting peace deal. Asked in the Oval Office this week if he thought the Russian president wanted to end the war, Mr Trump said: “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks.”
Trump has previously warned that the White House could impose a fresh round of secondary sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin fails to engage seriously in peace talks, although no action has yet been taken.
Even so, discussions are reportedly underway in Washington to impose secondary sanctions against countries that continue to trade with Russia, with the measures designed to target Russian exports of gas, oil, and raw materials. Such a move could inflict serious damage on the Russian economy, which is already suffering from the effects of falling oil prices, and would severely impact Putin’s ability to maintain Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
A text currently being discussed by prominent US Senators proposes imposing a tariff of “not less” than 500% on any country that "knowingly sells, supplies, transfers, or purchases oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products, or petrochemical products that originated in the Russian Federation." In other words, any nation that consumes Russian energy.
The legislation is believed to be aimed at disrupting China’s so-called “no-limits” alliance with Moscow, and would "hold China accountable for propping up Putin's war machine by buying cheap Russian oil," according to the text of the proposed measures being jointly promoted by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut.
While Trump remains ambivalent about imposing punitive measures against Russia if it continues the war in Ukraine, any move to impose fresh sanctions would represent a significant change in the American leader’s attitude to Putin.
In his various dealings with the Russian leader in recent months, Trump has indicated that his strong personal relationship with Putin would result in the two leaders negotiating an end to the conflict, which began when Russia launched its military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
