US President Donald Trump has renewed threats to impose sanctions on Russia if there is no progress towards peaceful resolution of the war in two weeks. Speaking to reporters in the White House on Friday, Trump said: "I'm going to make a decision as to what we do and it's going to be, it's going to be a very important decision, and that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it's your fight.”
Trump’s remarks came after his peace initiatives were sent into disarray by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the Kremlin’s rejection of the Nato-style security guarantees in post-war Ukraine. This week, Russia also launched its largest air raid on Ukraine of the past weeks. An air strike on Thursday hit a US electronic factory in western Ukraine, injuring fifteen people. Commenting on the attack on the US facility, Trump said: “I’m not happy about it, and I’m not happy about anything having to do with that war.” “Over the next two weeks, we're going to find out which way it’s going to go. And I better be very happy," Trump said.
Zelenskiy on Friday said Russia was dragging out peace talks to delay US sanctions. Trump administration made a number of efforts to achieve the peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in the past two weeks. Trump met with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15 in a summit that did not result in any agreement. Following the Alaska meeting, on August 18, Trump hosted Zelenskiy and EU leaders in the White House for more talks on Russia-Ukraine peace talks, with few signs of progress.
