ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he is prepared to impose major sanctions on Russia if all NATO members agree to stop buying Russian oil and take similar steps.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “A LETTER SENT BY PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP TO ALL NATO NATIONS AND, THE WORLD: “I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA.”
He added that NATO’s commitment to confronting Moscow has been “far less than 100%,” and described continued purchases of Russian oil by “some” as “shocking.”
He also proposed that NATO, as a group, impose tariffs of 50-100% on China, arguing it “has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
“This is not TRUMP’S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!), it is Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s WAR,” he wrote. “I am only here to help stop it, and save thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives.”
Trump had earlier threatened secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil if there is no progress to end the war in Ukraine that continues since 2022. He has already imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil.
The G7 countries and the EU cut trade ties and imposed a price cap on Russian oil, and in response Russia increased sales of oil to countries such as China and India.
The 27-member bloc has pledged to phase out all Russian fossil fuel imports by 2028.