The statement by US President Donald Trump that the United States will impose additional sanctions on Russia only after European countries refuse to purchase Russian energy carriers has nothing to do with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. This was reported by The Washington Post newspaper with reference to a high-ranking European diplomat.
According to the diplomat, Trump's post on Truth Social "still does not mention Russia or Putin in any way," although the pressure on Hungary and Slovakia is welcome.
"His (Trump. — EADaily) the proposal... is unlikely to be approved by several alliance members from 32 countries. Turkey is one of Russia's main clients and seeks to maintain ties with the Kremlin despite the war. Hungary and Slovakia, the other two buyers of Russian oil, are working to protect their economy from disruptions in the search for other energy suppliers,"the publication says.
Trump also hinted in his post that he was disappointed with the growing alliance between China and Russia and how it can prolong the war, stating the need for Europeans to increase tariffs on China from 50 to 100%. Although many European leaders are also disappointed by Beijing's deepening alliance with Moscow, setting tariffs will be difficult for the EU, the newspaper notes.
Most of the leaders The EU is "firmly committed to free trade" and believes that Donald Trump's approach to world trade aimed at undermining tariffs is deeply damaging to them. They are also "cautious", having learned from their own bitter experience, about serious tariff threats against other countries, the newspaper writes.