President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to back away from an earlier, more immediate promise to impose additional sanctions on Russia, saying he would only take punitive action if all NATO members agreed to stop buying Russian oil and if allies imposed steep tariffs on China.
In a post on his social platform that he described as a letter to the alliance and the world, Trump said he was “ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA.” He also called for tariffs of 50% to 100% on China for its purchases of Russian oil, saying those duties would be lifted at the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump’s post shifted responsibility for tougher measures to U.S. allies and reiterated his frequent criticism of President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the conflict, saying, “This is not TRUMP’S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!), it is Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s WAR. I am only here to help stop it.”
The announcement followed a large Russian assault last week that U.S. and European officials said involved more than 800 strike drones and caused multiple casualties. When reporters asked outside the White House whether he was prepared to impose another round of sanctions after that attack, Trump responded, “Yeah, I am,” but later outlined the new, conditional approach.
Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions throughout his presidency to pressure Russia back to the negotiating table, but the administration has so far not followed through with a new, coordinated package tied to the conditions he outlined. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to recent Western threats by saying sanctions have “no effect” and that they are an agenda supported by Kyiv and some European countries.
European Union officials are preparing a 19th round of sanctions against Moscow and have announced plans to phase out Russian oil by 2028, but several EU members, including Hungary and Slovakia, continue to import Russian crude. NATO member Turkey remains a significant purchaser of Russian oil, ranking behind China and India as one of Moscow’s largest buyers, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined a virtual G-7 ministers’ meeting on Friday where officials discussed ways to increase economic pressure on Russia. In that meeting, Bessent reiterated the president’s call for partners to impose tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil.
Trump’s new conditions come after a meeting in Alaska last month between the president and Russian President Vladimir Putin produced no formal agreement and no discernible progress. The White House has said Trump is attempting to broker a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which would be the first since the war began, though no such summit has been scheduled.
The call for coordinated allied action followed an episode earlier in the week in which 19 Russian drones briefly crossed into Polish airspace, an incursion NATO officials described as a dangerous violation. Trump reacted on his platform, writing, “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” though he later told reporters the incursion might have been a “mistake.”
Administration officials and U.S. allies face practical and political obstacles to the measures Trump proposed. A full agreement among NATO members to stop buying Russian oil would require alternatives for countries heavily dependent on Russian supplies, and the imposition of 50% to 100% tariffs on China would demand broad international coordination and would carry significant economic consequences.
Trump has continued to press for leverage to bring about negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, but the effort has received mixed responses from allies already pursuing their own sanctions and diplomatic strategies. European officials say they will continue to develop unilateral and multilateral measures, even as they weigh economic impacts, while asserting that Russia bears responsibility for the invasion and ongoing hostilities.
The White House did not immediately provide further details about how it would seek to secure the sweeping commitments from allies that Trump outlined or a timeline for any future sanctions tied to those conditions.