US President Donald Trump threatened Russia, stating that the United States would slap a 100% tariff if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.
While talking to media persons during his meeting with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, at the White House, Trump said, “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days. I use trade for a lot of things. But it’s great for settling wars. We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs. If we don’t have a deal in 50 days, it’s very simple. And they’ll be at 100 percent, and that’s the way it is.”
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that Washington will be sending its Patriot air defence systems to Kyiv, noting that the European Union will comprehensively cover the cost.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump stated that he will be meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as part of ongoing discussions on military support for Ukraine amidst the escalating tensions with Russia, while criticising Putin for Russia’s massive aerial attacks with drones and missiles at Kyiv this month.
“I’m going to have a meeting with the (NATO) Secretary General, who’s coming in tomorrow, but we basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military. They’re going to pay us 100 per cent for them, and that’s the way we want it, and we’ve been trying to get that again… As we send equipment, they’re going to reimburse us for that equipment… That’s the way it should have been a long time ago,” Trump stated.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump stated that the US would be providing weapons to NATO allies, who can then transfer them to Ukraine. This arrangement was confirmed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, noting that it was quicker to send supplies from Europe than to ship them directly from American factories, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that high-level talks are scheduled for this week with the US, as Trump reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to resuming weapons supply to Kyiv.
