The President of the United States, Donald Trump, published a statement threatening Russia for prices and sanctions, in the midst of accusations which he favors Moscow to the country it has invaded, Ukraine.
On Friday, on his social platform of truth, Trump avoided condemning the invasion of Russia, which was denounced as an unjustified assault crime under the Charter of the United Nations.
Instead, he focused on the last bombardment of Russia, which occurred just a few days after the United States announced that it would temporarily stop sharing military information with Ukraine.
“Based on the fact that Russia” beats “Ukraine on the battlefield at the moment, I am firmly considering large -scale banking sanctions, sanctions and prices on Russia until a Cessor Cessor and Final Peace Rules contract is concluded”, Trump is concluded “, Trump is concluded”, Trump wrote.
“In Russia and Ukraine, arrive at the table now, before it is too late. THANKS!!!”
Trump has repeatedly declared his goal of serving as a “peaceful” and “mediator” between Russia and Ukraine, the latter who has repelled a large -scale invasion since February 2022.
But Trump has more and more criticized the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while showing an affinity for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Later, at a press conference on Friday in the White House on Friday, Trump described negotiations with Russia as “easier” than similar discussions with Ukraine.
“I find it more difficult, frankly, to face Ukraine, and they don’t have the cards,” said Trump. “It can be easier to deal with Russia.”
A story of tension
Tensions with Zelenskyy began to reappear shortly after Trump took office for a second term in January.
There was growing skepticism among Trump’s republican party on the continuous support of Ukraine.
And Trump had already been dismissed during his first mandate on an alleged threat of retaining military aid to Ukraine if she did not provide detrimental information on her political rivals – something that criticisms may say that the current discord.
But Trump has intensified his criticism of Zelenskyy in recent weeks. He also tried to direct the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which gives that some consider that some consider the first concessions in Moscow.
Trump said, for example, that it was “unlikely” that Ukraine returned to its borders before 2014, before Russia was announcing Crimea and launched incursions into other territories.
He also rejected Ukraine’s attempts to join the alliance of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) Treaty as a non-starter, even repeating the Russian discussion points that Ukraine’s offer was what started the war.
On February 12, Trump announcement He had led “a long and very productive phone call” with Putin, and that their two countries would hinder peace negotiations in Saudi Arabia.
This led to the outcry of traditional American allies in Europe, including Ukraine, which feared being released from private talks.
Then, on February 19, Trump intensified tensions by calling Zelenskyy as “dictator” for not organizing elections in wartime. Ukraine is under martial law following the invasion, which prohibits elections from taking place.
During all this time, Trump had pushed Ukraine to grant American property on its minerals of rare earths, which include metals used in technological products. Ukraine had however focused on the lack of security insurance in the agreement.
Relations between the two leaders reached a boiling point on February 28, when Zelenskyy visited the White House to negotiate the mineral agreement.
A press conference in the oval office was devoted to a cries match, in which Trump reprimanded Zelenskyy for not having been “grateful” enough for American support.
“You are going to conclude an agreement, or we came out,” Trump told Zelenskyy, while pointing out, “Putin has gone through a lot with me.”
Russian officials applauded Trump’s comments, and shortly after, Trump announced that he would suspend help in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, her administration also announced that she would temporarily cease to share the military information that Ukraine uses to follow the Russian troop movement, protect himself from incoming missiles and deploy his own rockets.
A night assault
In the early hours of Friday, Russia published a missile dam on Ukrainian energy facilities, apparently taking advantage of current defensive angles.
Ukraine reported that, although he was able to intercept the drones of Russia, he has less managed to destroy the missiles before hitting.
The attack was the motivation for the threat of sanction of Trump, which the president himself explained when he appeared at the oval office.
“They bombed hell right now,” Trump said in the oval office on Friday.
“I put a statement in – a very strong statement:” I can’t do that. You can’t do that. We try to help them, and Ukraine must get on the ball and do a job. »»
However, journalists pushed Trump on the question of whether his decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine allowed Putin to take advantage of a moment of weakness.
Trump has shrugged, saying that the Russian attack was a natural response to the situation. He also located in the context of his negotiations with Putin.
“I think he wants to stop him and settled down, and I think he is hitting them stronger than he hit them,” said Trump about Putin.
“And I think everyone in this position would probably do it right now. He wants to finish it, and I think Ukraine wants to finish it, but I don’t see -. It’s crazy. They take a huge punishment. I don’t quite understand.
When asked if the United States should offer more help to Ukraine to help defend himself against such attacks, Trump accused Ukraine again to refuse to participate in peace negotiations.
“I should know that they want to settle. I don’t know they want to settle. If they don’t want to settle down, we got out of it, “said Trump.
The fences distributed?
During the week following the presentation of the oval office, Ukrainian officials tried to repair the fences with their American counterparts. The two parties should meet in Saudi Arabia next week.
Tuesday, on Tueskyy, also sent a letter to Trump, reporting that he is ready to sign an agreement with the United States. He too poster Similar comments on social networks.
“I would like to repeat Ukraine’s commitment to peace,” said Zelenskyy. “No one wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I are ready to work under the solid leadership of President Trump to obtain a lasting peace. »»
Trump read out aloud part of Zelenskyy’s letter before a joint session of the congress, while deploring the amount of money that the United States has invested in the defense of Ukraine.
“The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense without any security, without anything,” he said. “Do you want to continue for five years?”
However, the threat of Friday sanctions against Russia is the most assertive Trump has been against Moscow since the start of its second term.
Trump’s predecessor, former president Joe Biden, had issued multiple sanctions against Russia during his four years in power, including measures against his energy sector in his last days.
According to the US government statisticsTotal American trade with Russia in 2024 was estimated at around $ 3.5 billion. This is down $ 36 billion in 2021, the year before the large -scale invasion of Ukraine.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Alan Fisher said Trump’s threats to “large -scale” sanctions could be a response to the pressure he feels to strengthen his response to Russia.
“Many people thought Donald Trump was perhaps too favorable to Russia, forcing Ukraine to talks and did not put the same level of pressure on Russia,” said Fisher.
“The United States has led the world under Joe Biden with sanctions. Donald Trump has not implemented it since he took office. »»
But it is not yet clear if Trump will follow, especially since he should meet Putin in the coming months.
