US President, Donald Trump has warned Russia that he would have “no choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States” if Russian President, Vladimir Putin does not move towards a negotiated peace deal in Ukraine.

In a post on social media, Trump said that he is not looking to hurt Russia, adding that he loves the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin “- and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX.” He added, “We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process.”

He asserted that he is going to do Russia, “whose Economy is failing,” and President Putin, a “very big FAVOR,” adding, “Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.”

“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.”

“Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”
Donald Trump

Trump was taking a harder line than he had during a White House press conference on Tuesday, when he said it “sounds likely” that he would apply additional sanctions if Putin did not come to the table.

The US President also declined to say whether he would continue his predecessor Joe Biden’s policy of sending weapons to Ukraine to fight off Russia’s invasion, launched in February 2022.

He said at the press conference, “We’re looking at that. We’re talking to (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky, we’re going to be talking to President Putin very soon.”

Prior to his inauguration on Monday, Trump had vowed to end the Ukraine war before even taking office, raising expectations he would leverage aid to force Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow.

In unusually critical remarks of Putin on Monday, Trump said the Russian President was “destroying Russia by not making a deal.”

Trump added that Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had told him he wanted a peace agreement to end the war.

Moscow To See What Trump Means

Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said that Moscow would have to see what Trump meant by an “agreement” to end the war in Ukraine.

“It’s not just a question of ending the war. It is first and foremost a question of addressing the root causes of the Ukraine crisis.”
Dmitry Polyanskiy

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that at least 200 000 peacekeepers would be needed in any case.

He told a news agency that at least some of the peacekeepers in his country would also have to be US forces to actually deter Russia.

While Ukrainian leaders might appreciate this tougher stance from Trump – they have always said that Putin only understands force – the initial reaction in Kyiv to the US President’s comments suggests that people are waiting for action, not words.

Trump has not specified where and when more economic penalties might be imposed. Since 2022, Russian imports to the US have fallen sharply. Currently, Russia exports mainly phosphate fertilisers and platinum to the US.

Meanwhile, senior officials have indicated that talks with the new US administration could take place.

Putin has said that he is ready to end the war, but only if Ukraine accepts Russia’s territorial gains, currently around 20% of its territory, and agrees not to join NATO.