Mr Trump warned that Russia could face sanctions or heavy tariffs if Ukraine peace talks do not progress.
President Donald Trump said on August 22 that he was “not happy” about Russia’s attack on a US-owned plant in western Ukraine. “I’m not happy about everything about that war,” he said.
However, the US president stressed that he wanted to see whether Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met. “I think I’ll see where Russia stands, and frankly where Ukraine stands. We’ll have to see where both sides stand,” he said.
President Trump said he would decide what the US would do after the two-week deadline he set, stressing that the decisions were very important. “It could be sanctions or tariffs, or both. Or we do nothing and say it’s their war,” he said.
In an interview on August 21, the US President set a two-week time frame to assess the prospects for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. He has also repeatedly set two-week deadlines related to the war in Ukraine and other issues. In late May, he set a similar time frame to assess whether President Putin was serious about moving toward a peace deal.
Many of those deadlines have not materialized. Russia has ruled out the possibility of Putin and Zelensky meeting soon, although President Trump said earlier this week that he was arranging a Russia-Ukraine summit.
President Trump has recently stepped up efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. He held a summit with President Putin on August 15 in Alaska, then met with European leaders and President Zelensky at the White House on August 18.
The events have raised expectations for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky. Both Russian and Ukrainian leaders initially appeared open to the idea, but subsequent developments have shown that the prospects for peace talks are slim.
Russia said on August 21 that Ukraine appeared to have no interest in “lasting peace,” accusing Kiev of seeking security guarantees that were completely inconsistent with Moscow’s demands. Meanwhile, Mr. Zelensky criticized Russia for “trying to avoid meeting,” saying that Moscow did not want to end the fighting.