US President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees a peace deal, a major policy shift brought on by frustration with Moscow’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor.
But Trump’s threat of sanctions came with a 50-day grace period, a move that was welcomed by investors in Russia where the rouble recovered from earlier losses and stock markets rose.
Sitting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin and that billions of dollars of US weapons would go to Ukraine.
Throughout the more than three-year-old war, Western countries have cut most of their own financial ties to Moscow, but have held back from taking steps that would restrict Russia from selling its oil elsewhere.
That has allowed Moscow to continue earning hundreds of billions of dollars from shipping oil to buyers such as China and India.
“We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs,” Trump said. “If we don’t have a deal in 50 days, it’s very simple, and they’ll be at 100%.”
A White House official said Trump was referring to 100% tariffs on Russian goods as well as secondary sanctions on other countries that buy its exports.
Eighty-five of the 100 US senators are co-sponsoring a bill that would give Trump the authority to impose 500% tariffs on any country that helps Russia, but the chamber’s Republican leaders have been waiting for Trump to give them the go-ahead for a vote.
In Kyiv, people welcomed the announcement but some remained cautious about Trump’s intentions.
REUTERS
