Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose sanctions on Moscow, but on the condition that all Nato allies agree to completely halt purchases of Russian oil and implement their own sanctions.
He also suggested members of the transatlantic alliance consider imposing tariffs of 50% to 100% on China for its purchases of Russian petroleum as a way to help end the war.
In a post on his Truth Social site on Saturday, the US president wrote: “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.”
Trump also said the alliance’s commitment to winning the war “has been far less than 100%” and branded the purchase of Russian oil by some Nato members as “shocking”.
“If NATO does as I say, 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,” he continued.
Turkey, a Nato member, is the third largest buyer of Russia’s oil products, after China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Other Nato members who purchase Russian oil include Hungary and Slovakia.
Trump has repeatedly threatened Russia with additional sanctions, but so far he has failed to follow through.
Trump also presented the prospect of Nato imposing tariffs on China, which has deepened ties with Moscow, following a high-profile summit between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin recently in Beijing.
“I believe that [NATO sanctions on Russia], plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% tariffs on China, to be fully withdrawn after the war with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ending this deadly, but ridiculous war,” Trump said.
The US president has already placed a 25% import tax on goods from India for its buying of Russian energy products, but has not yet placed additional tariffs on China for doing the same.
Trump’s post came as tensions mounted after multiple Russian drones flew into Poland on Wednesday, entering Nato airspace and marking a potential escalation of the war, prompting the alliance to announce a new mission to bolster its eastern flank.