Trump threatens to target Russian trade partners
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump told Russia on Monday to end its Ukraine war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via Nato.
Trump said he was "very, very unhappy" with Vladimir Putin, underlining his insistence that his patience had finally snapped with the Russian leader's refusal to end his three-year-old military campaign in Ukraine.
"We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The Republican added that they would be "secondary tariffs" that target Russia's remaining trade partners -- seeking to cripple Moscow's ability to survive already sweeping Western sanctions.
Trump and Rutte also unveiled a deal under which the Nato military alliance would buy billions of dollars of arms from the United States -- including Patriot anti-missile batteries -- and then send them to Ukraine. (AFP)
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