‘Putin Is Destroying Russia by Not Making a Deal’ – Trump Threatens Tougher Measures if Moscow Won’t Accept His Terms

US President Donald Trump on Thursday placed the ball in Moscow’s court as he prepares negotiations aimed at ending the almost three-year war in Ukraine.

On his own social media platform, Truth Social, the newly inaugurated president threatened even tougher sanctions on Russia’s embattled economy unless Moscow agreed to Washington’s as-yet unspecified proposals.

“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump said.

Ongoing sanctions imposed by the previous administration of Joe Biden and Ukraine’s other Western allies have started to have a profound effect on the Russian economy as the war enters is fourth year.

The 45th and 47th US President, sworn in on Monday, has made a habit of wielding potential American fiscal and military consequences on countries with whom he plans to have negotiations before he even sits down at the bargaining table: especially Mexico, China, Canada, Panama, and even Denmark as Trump eyes a geopolitically strategic acquisition in Greenland.

Trump insisted that he was “not looking to hurt Russia” and underscored that he had “always had a very good relationship with [Russian autocrat Vladimir] Putin.”

“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.”

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“We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better,” he added. “It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL.’”

AFP noted that the United States imported $2.9 billion worth of goods from Russia from January to November 2024, down about 50 percent from the $4.3 billion in business the two powers conducted over the same period in 2023, quoting figures from the US Department of Commerce. (Top US imports from Russia include fertilizers and precious metals.)

Trump noted that he also had been discussing these measures with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and plans to meet with Puin “soon”. At a White House press conference on Tuesday Trump said only that it was “likely” that he would apply additional sanctions if Putin did not agree to certain measures or come to the negotiating table at all.

“We’re looking at that,” Trump said. “We’re talking to Zelensky and we’re going to be talking to President Putin very soon.”

On Monday, the US president remarked that Putin was “destroying Russia by not making a deal.”

While congratulating Trump on his inauguration, the Russian leader had said he was “open to dialogue” on Ukraine and hoped that any resulting settlement would ensure “lasting peace.”