While speaking to the reporters at the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the war in Ukraine “disgusting”. Without naming his Russian counterpart, Trump said, “Russia, I think it’s disgusting what they’re doing. I think it’s disgusting.”
Trump added that he wasn’t completely sure if the sanctions would deter Russia from launching attacks in Ukraine. The US President has given Russia a deadline of August 8 to either strike a deal or face tough economic consequences.
Trump to send special envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia
Trump will be sending his envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia soon. Witkoff has already met Putin several times in Moscow, before Trump’s attempt to improve relations with Russia fell apart.
Trump has urged Russia to stop its attacks in Ukraine by the end of next week, or be ready to face harsher economic penalties. Trump repeated this warning on Thursday.
He said the US will impose sanctions on Russia, though he isn’t sure if Putin will care.
Will Trump hit Russia with harsher tariffs?
Trump has hinted at taking harsher steps, including extra tariffs that could hit Russia’s trade with countries like China and India. These steps could hurt Russia more, but they might also cause global problems.
Trump also criticised India for what he called a history of protecting its own markets and claimed that the country buys most of its weapons from Russia. He said that India has become one of Russia’s biggest energy customers, along with China, even as the world wants Russia to stop its war in Ukraine.
Trump showed frustration over this, saying the US has a large trade deficit with India. The next day, Trump made an even stronger remark, saying he didn’t care about India’s ties with Russia and that both countries could ruin their “dead economies” together.
He confirmed that the 25% tariff on Indian goods would stay and added that more penalties could be discussed if India continued to support Russia.
When asked why, Trump pointed to India’s role in BRICS and said the bloc is against the US. He seemed surprised that India was part of it.