Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if no Ukraine peace deal reached within 50 days

United States president Donald Trump said on Monday that he would punish Russia with tariffs if there isn't a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days, the latest example of his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. 

"We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia", the US president said. “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days."

He said they would be “secondary tariffs", meaning they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

Trump and Rutte also agreed to a new deal on US weapons. The American president said European allies will buy “billions of dollars" worth of US military equipment and send them to Ukraine.  

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeated he could resolve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours upon his return to power. 

After taking office in January, Trump said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. 

At the same time, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of prolonging the war and called him a “dictator without elections.”

But Russia’s relentless onslaught against Ukrainian civilian areas wore down his patience. 

In April, Trump urged Putin to “STOP!” launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader “has gone absolutely CRAZY!” as the bombardments continued.