Trump no longer saves: Russia's sanctions warned

President Trump warned Russia with severe sanctions due to ongoing attacks on Ukraine.

In a post on the social network, the President wrote:

“Based on the fact that Russia is heavily fighting Ukraine on the battlefield, I am considering the opportunity to impose strong bank sanctions, other sanctions and large-scale tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire is reached and a final peace agreement is reached”.

The president also called on Russia and Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table immediately before it is too late, as he said.

Meanwhile, the president is continuing to pressure Kiev to sign the deal on rare minerals. On Thursday, he also said Moscow was ready for a war-breaking agreement that started with the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022.

President Trump also sent a message to NATO member states, threatening that “if they did not pay, he would not protect”.

He unveiled his vision of how he would mediate peace between the two neighbouring countries.

“I think Ukraine wants to make a deal, because in my opinion, they have no choice“, he said. “I also think Russia wants to make a deal because according to what I know, they don't have a choice either.“.

President Trump said he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia “perhaps after a month and a half”.

Special Envoy for Middle East, Summit Co-ordinator

Earlier in the day, President Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said he would go to Saudi Arabia to meet with representatives of Ukraine for talks about a ceasefire to stop the Russian attack.

“We're already in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh, or possibly Jedah.”, said Steve Whitcoff. “What we want to achieve is a peace deal and an initial truce. “, he added.

Mr. Witkoff said President Trump thinks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cleared the mistake after the crash between the two leaders at the White House last Friday.

“He (President) feels that Zelensky's letter called the meeting at the White House, a very positive first step. It required forgiveness. There was an admission that the United States has done much for Ukraine and a sense of gratitude“, said Mr. Whitcoff.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky was in Brussels with European leaders for urgent talks Thursday.

“We will arm more quickly, smarter and more efficient than Russia”, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who holds the rotating European Union presidency.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a decision to ease budget rules so that countries can spend much more on defence. During the 27 member states summit, they were encouraged to invest about $863 billion in defence over the next four years.

“We are very grateful that we are not alone, and these are not just words”, said Mr. Zelenskyy. “We feel this and this is very important”, He added.

Macro predicts decisive step

Before the high-level talks, French President Emmanuel Macron said EU members will take crucial steps ahead of”, while voicing concerns about changes in American support for Ukraine under the new Trump administration.

“Europe's future must not be decided in Washington or Moscow”, said Mr. Macron.

French Defence Minister Sebastien LeCornu said on Thursday that France is sharing intelligence information with Ukraine, a decision that followed the United States' announcement that it had stopped exchanging intelligence information with Kiev.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday that at the moment the United States is not sharing intelligence information with Kiev, but added that this may not last, after Mr. Zelensky's claims, that Ukraine was ready for peace talks with Russia.

Early in the week, President Trump ordered the United States to suspend military aid to Kiev, a decision that followed his tried meeting at the White House with Mr. Zelensky last week.

Since the beginning of the war in 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with considerable intelligence, including vital information needed to hit Russian forces.

Reaching a peace agreement can be difficult. Ukraine has long called for a return to its internationally recognised borders before 2014, before Moscow invaded the Crimea Peninsula.

Currently Russia controls one fifth of Ukrainian territory, including most of Ukraine's birth, and has vowed not to return any part of this territory to Kiev.

Some information on this article was received by the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and HINAReuters./ VOA