US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the Russia-Ukraine war would end if NATO countries stopped buying Russian oil. He also threatened to impose 50-100 per cent tariffs on China for its purchase of petroleum from Russia.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote that the purchase of Russian oil by members of NATO is “shocking”. Addressing NATO, he said, “It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia”. He also accused NATO and said that their commitment to win the war “has been far less than 100%”.
China is the largest buyer of Russian energy, followed by India. In the third place stands Turkey who is a NATO member. Hungary and Slovakia are other members of the 32-state alliance that also purchase oil from Russia.
This comes amid the backdrop of an escalation as drones entered NATO ally Poland’s airspace after being launched from Russia. Poland shot down the drones. The Congress has also been pushing Trump for a bill to strengthen sanctions.
Trump said that a NATO ban on Russian oil plus tariffs on China would “also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.”
He noted that China has “strong control, and even grip, over Russia” and said that the tariffs he is imposing “will break that grip”.
Blaming the onus of the war on Former US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he said, “This is not TRUMP’S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!), it is Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s WAR.” He did not name Russian President Vladimir Putin in the list.
Urging NATO to do “as I say”, he wrote, “the WAR will end quickly, and all of those lives will be saved! If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States.”
Last month, the Trump administration levied 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, with another 25 per cent levy stacked on top of it for New Delhi’s purchase of oil and weapons from Moscow.
