The US President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on the EU and NATO countries to stop purchasing oil from Russia, in another move to push the Kremlin to end the war.
“I don’t want them purchasing Russian oil, and they’ve got to stop immediately. Not fair to us. They’re purchasing Russian oil, and we have to do things,” Trump told reports before his trip to the UK on Tuesday.
Responding to a question about Ukraine, Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy must reach a peace deal with Russia. “He’s going to have to make a deal; Zelenskyy is going to have to make a deal, and Europe has to stop buying oil from Russia,” Trump explained. The US leader said loved Ukraine but conceded “it is in serious trouble.”
Trump went on to reiterate his position that the war would never happened had he been the president four years ago. “But I’m going to get it stopped. I’ve stopped seven wars in the last eight months. I thought that would have been the easiest, because I know Putin, but it’s not, because there’s tremendous hatred between Zelenskiy and Putin, but we’re going to get it stopped,” Trump said.
Trump’s warning to the EU and NATO about the purchase of Russian oil came days after he published a letter to NATO allies, urging them to stop buying Russian oil. In a letter posted on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said he would issue “major” sanctions on Russia only if NATO countries stop buying oil from Russia. Trump claimed the war in Ukraine would “quickly” end if those steps were taken.
On Sunday, Trump for the first time labelled Russia “aggressor” in the war in Ukraine, demonstrating the hardening of his position toward the Kremlin. Commenting on the weekly troops casualties, Trump said 8,000 soldiers had died this week from both countries. “Some more from Russia, but when you re the aggressor, you lose more,” Trump said. He had previously refused to condemn Russia, however his position changed over summer, with his administration increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin who has been dragging feet over US-brokered peace deal with Ukraine. As Trump’s tougher stance to push the Kremlin to the negotiation table is failing, Washington is facing increasing calls to impose tougher sanctions on Russia.
