Trump issues new ultimatum to Russia
TURNBERRY, Scotland: US President Donald Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 3-1/2-year-old conflict. Trump has threatened both sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made. The fresh deadline suggests the US president is prepared to move forward on those threats after previous hesitation to do so. Speaking in Scotland, where he is holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month.
'I'm going to make a new deadline of about ... 10 or 12 days from today,' Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 'There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made.' There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
Ukraine welcomed the statement. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, thanked Trump in a social media post for 'standing firm and delivering a clear message of peace through strength.' Trump, who has expressed annoyance also with Zelensky, has not always followed tough talk about Putin with action, citing what he deems a good relationship that the two men have had previously.
On Monday, Trump indicated he was not interested in more talks with Putin. He said sanctions and tariffs would be used as penalties for Moscow if it did not meet Trump's demands.
'There's no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait? And it would be sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs,' Trump said. 'I don't want to do that to Russia. I love the Russian people.' Ukraine had proposed a summit between Putin and Zelensky before the end of August, but the Kremlin has said that timeline was unlikely and that a meeting could only happen as a final step to clinch peace.
Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that if the West wanted real peace with Ukraine, it would stop supplying Kyiv with weapons. Trump has repeatedly voiced exasperation with Putin for pursuing attacks on Ukraine despite US efforts to end the war. Trump has played up successes in other parts of the world where the United States has helped to broker peace agreements and has been flattered by some leaders who suggest he should be given the Nobel Peace Prize.
'I'm disappointed in President Putin,' Trump said on Monday. 'I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer what's going to happen.' Trump, who is also struggling to achieve a peace deal in Gaza, has touted his role in ending conflicts between India and Pakistan as well as Rwanda and Congo. Before returning to the White House in January, Trump campaigned on a promise to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine in a day.
'We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever,' Trump said. 'And I say that's not the way to do it.' — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
15 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Brazil's fish industry, hit with a 50% US tariff, seeks a lifeline
SAO PAULO: Brazil's seafood industry is sounding the alarm to pressure the federal government for immediate relief as it grapples with mounting fears of job losses and bankruptcies as a result of the 50 percent tariffs the US imposed on most Brazilian exports on Wednesday. The new levies made the future highly uncertain for Brazilian fishing companies, which sell close to $400 million worth of seafood to the US a year, or about 70 percent of the sector's annual exports. 'This situation renders our business unviable,' said Arimar França Filho, the head of a fishing union in Brazil's northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte. 'While the domestic market can absorb some of our production, it cannot take it all, and we cannot have all our boats fishing solely for Brazil. 'The fish industry is calling for an emergency credit line of 900 million reais ($165 million) to navigate the new economic climate. It is also pushing the government to deepen negotiations aimed at reopening the European market, which has been closed to Brazilian fish exports since 2017. Even as producers scrambled to get their goods to the US ahead of the tariffs that hit on Wednesday, some fishing boats had already been sidelined to prevent excess production, the union leader said. Eduardo Lobo, president of the lobby group Abipesca, said that the sector has no other short-term alternative. 'Without credit, it's impossible to maintain inventories, honor commitments, and preserve jobs,' he warned in a statement, estimating that the tariffs could affect some 20,000 jobs if authorities fail to respond quickly. 'There could be giant unemployment, not tomorrow,' said Attilio Sergio Leardini, founding partner at Leardini Pescados, one of Brazil´s largest suppliers, which exports to several countries, including the US. 'But maybe in six months, in a year, some segments may be halting production.' Leardini is most worried about premium products – such as lobster, tuna, and croaker fish – which are highly sought after by the US market but are unlikely to find enough buyers in Brazil, particularly at the prices American consumers pay. Many fishermen are desperate, believing they won't find consumers to pay prices that support a reasonable standard of living for their families. 'But as we know, it's not in our control,' said França Filho, the union leader. Fishermen, he predicted, will see reduced prices starting this week, while Brazilian consumers are likely to find cheaper fish in the supermarket aisle within a month. That much was happy news to Michel de Oliveira França, the owner of a fish shop in the city of Niteroi, in Rio de Janeiro. 'The cheaper, the better,' he said. 'The tendency is to sell more and more.' — Reuters
Kuwait Times
15 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Trump may look like he's winning the trade war, but hurdles remain
Higher tariffs on trading partners could inflict economic harm on Americans: Economists WASHINGTON: At a glance, US President Donald Trump appears to be winning the trade war he unleashed after returning to the White House in January, bending major trading partners to his will, imposing double-digit tariff rates on nearly all imports, narrowing the trade deficit, and raking in tens of billions of dollars a month in much-needed cash for federal government coffers. Significant hurdles remain, however, including whether US trading partners will make good on investment and goods-purchase commitments, how much tariffs will drive up inflation or stymie demand and growth, and whether the courts allow many of his ad-hoc levies to stand. On inauguration day, the effective US tariff rate was about 2.5 percent. It has since jumped to somewhere between 17 percent and 19 percent, according to a range of estimates. The Atlantic Council estimates it will edge closer to 20 percent, the highest in a century, with higher duties taking effect on Thursday. Trading partners have largely refrained from retaliatory tariffs, sparing the global economy from a more painful tit-for-tat trade war. Data on Tuesday showed a 16 percent narrowing of the US trade deficit in June, while the US trade gap with China shrank to its smallest in more than 21 years. American consumers have shown themselves to be more resilient than expected, but some recent data indicate the tariffs are already affecting jobs, growth and inflation. 'The question is, what does winning mean?' said Josh Lipsky, who heads economic studies at the Atlantic Council. 'He's raising tariffs on the rest of the world and avoiding a retaliatory trade war far easier than even he anticipated, but the bigger question is what effect does that have on the US economy.' Michael Strain, head of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said Trump's geopolitical victories could prove hollow. 'In a geopolitical sense, Trump's obviously getting tons of concessions from other countries, but in an economic sense, he's not winning the trade war,' he said. 'What we're seeing is that he is more willing to inflict economic harm on Americans than other countries are willing to inflict on their nations. And I think of that as losing.' Kelly Ann Shaw, a White House trade adviser during Trump's first term who is now a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said a still-strong economy and near-record-high stock prices 'support a more aggressive tariff strategy.' But Trump's tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation and policies to boost energy production would take time to play out. 'I think history will judge these policies, but he is the first president in my lifetime to make major changes to the global trading system,' she added. Trump has concluded eight framework agreements with the European Union, Japan, Britain, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines that impose tariffs on their goods ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent. That's well short of the '90 deals in 90 days' administration officials had touted in April, but they account for some 40 percent of US trade flows. Adding in China, currently saddled with a 30 percent levy on its goods but likely to win another reprieve from even higher tariffs before an August 12 deadline, would raise that to nearly 54 percent. Deals aside, many of Trump's tariff actions have been mercurial. On Wednesday he ratcheted up pressure on India, doubling new tariffs on goods from there to 50 percent from 25 percent because of its imports of oil from Russia. The same rate is in store for goods from Brazil, after Trump complained about its prosecution of former leader Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. And Switzerland, which Trump had previously praised, is facing 39 percent tariffs after a conversation between its leader and Trump derailed a deal. Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer who worked in both the first Trump administration and the Biden government, said what's been announced so far fails to address 'longstanding, politically entrenched trade issues' that have bothered US policymakers for decades, and getting there would likely take 'months, if not years.' He also noted they lack specific enforcement mechanisms for the big investments announced, including $550 billion for Japan and $600 billion for the EU. Promises and risks Critics lit into European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after she agreed to a 15 percent tariff during a surprise meeting with Trump during his trip to Scotland last month, while gaining little in return. The deal frustrated winemakers and farmers, who had sought a zero-for-zero tariff. Francois-Xavier Huard, head of France's FNIL national dairy sector federation, said 15 percent was better than the threatened 30 percent, but would still cost dairy farmers millions of euros. European experts say von der Leyen's move did avert higher tariffs, calmed tensions with Trump, averting potentially higher duties on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and cars, while making largely symbolic pledges to buy $750 billion of US strategic goods and invest over $600 billion. Meeting those pledges will fall to individual EU members and companies, and cannot be mandated by Brussels, trade experts and analysts note. US officials insist Trump can re-impose higher tariffs if he believes the EU, Japan or others are not honoring their commitments. But it remains unclear how that would be policed. And history offers a caution. China, with its state-run economy, never met its modest purchase agreements under Trump's Phase 1 US-China trade deal. Holding it to account proved difficult for the subsequent Biden administration. 'All of it is untested. The EU, Japan and South Korea are going to have to figure out how to operationalize this,' Shaw said. 'It's not just government purchases. It's getting the private sector motivated to either make investments or back loans, or to purchase certain commodities.' And lastly, the main premise for the tariffs Trump has imposed unilaterally faces legal challenges. His legal team met with stiff questioning during appellate court oral arguments over his novel use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets, to justify his tariffs. A ruling could come any time and regardless of the outcome seems destined to be settled ultimately by the Supreme Court. — Reuters
Kuwait Times
15 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Russia hints at deploying mid-range missiles after ending INF moratorium
Kyiv buries soldier's wife and daughters killed in Russian attack MOSCOW: Russia said on Tuesday that it would no longer place any limits on where it deploys intermediate-range missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after Russia said it was lifting what it called a unilateral moratorium on deploying intermediate-range missiles, saying this was a forced response to moves by the US and its allies. 'Russia no longer has any restrictions on this matter, Russia no longer considers itself limited by anything,' Peskov told a daily briefing. 'Russia considers itself entitled, if necessary, to take appropriate measures, to take appropriate steps.' Western security analysts said the 'moratorium', in fact, was long dead, if it had ever existed, but the Russian announcement was intended as an aggressive signal to the West at a time of high tension over the war in Ukraine. 'It sends a message to Europe: don't forget that we've got these missiles,' Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian arms control negotiator, said in a telephone interview. 'The whole idea is really to get Europeans to think more about what they plan to do, or to kind of cool them down.' Sokov said Russia's announcement was a formality given its deployment of a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile called the Oreshnik, which it test-fired at Ukraine last November. President Vladimir Putin said last week that the Oreshnik had gone into serial production and been delivered to the armed forces. He has said it will also be deployed in Belarus, a Russian ally which borders three NATO countries. Military analysts say it could be fired with either conventional or nuclear warheads. As the Cold War neared its end, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed a landmark treaty in 1987 to scrap all ground-based shorter-range and intermediate-range (INF) nuclear and conventional weapons, defined as those with ranges between 500 km and 5,500 km. But the pact, seen at the time as a sign of easing tensions between the rival superpowers, unraveled over time as relations deteriorated. The United States withdrew from the treaty in 2019 during Donald Trump's first presidency, citing alleged violations that Russia denied. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the United States said last year it would start deployment in Germany from 2026 of weapons including SM-6s and Tomahawks, previously placed mainly on ships, and new hypersonic missiles. These are conventional systems but some could also, in theory, be fitted with nuclear tips, and security experts say Russian planning would have to allow for that possibility. Gerhard Mangott, a Russia expert at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, said the planned deployments of INF missiles in Europe by both NATO countries and Russia signaled a looming arms race. If one side fired such a missile, the other would have only minutes to respond. 'In central Europe, the warning time will be reduced to about four to five minutes, so this makes an unintended nuclear escalation much more likely,' he said in a phone interview. Since the start of the Ukraine war, Russia has delivered numerous warnings to the West not to intervene directly and risk a nuclear war. Meanwhile, men in military uniform shouldered the three white coffins out of a schoolyard in Kyiv on Tuesday, carrying a Ukrainian mother and her two children killed by the Russians to be buried. Residents held each other and wept as they bid a final farewell to their neighbors, who died at dawn on Friday, when a barrage of Russian drones and missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital for hours. Across a leafy park next to the school, flowers, toys, and portraits of those killed were laid beneath the remains of a nine-storey residential building gutted in the attack, which killed at least 31 people. 'It is difficult to imagine the grief of our brother, who lost two little daughters and his beloved wife in an instant,' said the military unit of Igor Gumeniuk, the serviceman whose family was buried. Local media reported that Irina and her children Anastassia, 13, and Alina, 10, had fled the fighting in the eastern Donetsk region - where Russia has concentrated its firepower - before settling in Kyiv. — Agencies
