President Donald Trump stepped up pressure Wednesday on Russia to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and threatened financial penalties on the country if it refuses to conclude fighting swiftly.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin should make a deal “soon,” or else he would “have no other choice” but to impose additional taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russian imports to the U.S., along with “other participating countries.”
Trump campaigned on promises to rapidly end the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He’s dialed back those pledges more recently and acknowledged the difficulty of reaching an agreement to stop the fighting, with the Russian army recording steady advances. The U.S. has been Ukraine’s biggest financial and military backer, and Trump has signaled he could reduce the support.
“I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin,” Trump said. “Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! 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.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”
It’s not clear what goods would be subject to the penalties that Trump threatened, or which other nations might join such an effort. The Trump administration could potentially target Russia’s major oil producers, a move that incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent endorsed last week.
Other options include targeting third-country banks that facilitate Russian transactions, or seizing the roughly $300 billion of Russian reserves that have been frozen in Western countries since the invasion, according to Bloomberg Economics, though both measures come with risks.
The potential for deploying tariffs is limited because the U.S. imported only about $4.6 billion worth of goods from Russia in 2023 — less than 0.2% of total imports, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The U.S. has already imposed extensive sanctions on Russia, though it’s struggled to persuade some of Russia’s key trading partners — such as India — to scale back their purchases.
Trump has previously said a meeting with Putin is in the works, though no date or venue has been announced. Putin earlier in the week said the Kremlin was ready for talks, although he focused on the need for a long-term peace. Trump met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York last year and indicated that the Ukrainian leader was ready to end the conflict.
The U.S. president, who took office on Monday, has already taken credit for helping to broker a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
In his first evening back at the White House, Trump warned Putin that his country will suffer if there’s no peace in Ukraine. “I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” Trump said, pointing to high inflation as a sign of economic weakness. “I think Russia’s going to be in big trouble.”