Trump warns Putin: End Ukraine war or face new tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Monday that he has only 10 to 12 days to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump thus shortened the previously agreed 50-day deadline for reaching a peace deal, Deutsche Welle reports.
"There’s no reason to wait. I’m setting a new deadline: 10 to 12 days from today," Trump said during a press conference in Scotland.
That same day, Trump expressed his disappointment in Putin during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"I’ve been very disappointed in President Putin. That’s why I decided to cut short the timeline I had initially offered," the U.S. leader stated.
According to Trump, despite repeated efforts at diplomacy, Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine.
"Every time we seemed close to an agreement, Putin would launch more missiles at cities like Kyiv. People are dying—in nursing homes, on the streets. This must stop," he said.
Kyiv welcomes Washington’s tough stance
Ukrainian officials welcomed Washington’s position. The head of the Presidential Administration in Kyiv, Andrii Yermak, said Trump’s message was clear: “peace through strength.”
"Putin only understands strength—and that was made abundantly clear. This is a principle President Zelensky fully endorses," Yermak wrote on Telegram.
In July, Trump announced that without a peace agreement, the United States would impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia’s trading partners.
So far, Trump noted, direct contact with Putin has continued, but Russia’s actions have undermined any real progress toward peace.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
