The Kremlin on Thursday shrugged off President Donald Trump’s threat to slap “Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russia unless it negotiates an end to the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, saying “We do not see any new elements here.”
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump was also fond of imposing sanctions during his first term and Moscow sees nothing new in the president’s latest ultimatum.
“We do not see any particular new elements here,” Peskov told Russian media Thursday, Politico.eu reported. “He likes these methods, at least he liked them during his first presidency.”
“Russia is ready for an equal and careful dialogue with the United States, which we had during Trump’s first term,” he said. “We are waiting for signals that have not yet been received.”
Trump, who during the 2024 campaign claimed that he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine in “24 hours” after becoming president, used a mix of flattery and arm-twisting on Truth Social to pressure President Vladimir Putin.
He wrote in the Wednesday posting that “we must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War.”
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump wrote.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” he added.
Ukraine hailed Trump’s message to Moscow, noting the president is sending “strong messages” to Russia by threatening economic penalties.
“We do really welcome such strong messages from President Trump and we believe that he will be the winner. And we believe that we have an additional chance to get a new dynamic in diplomatic efforts to end this war,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said during a discussion Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Reuters reported.
Former President Joe Biden and the U.S.’s Western allies have imposed broad sanctions on Russia’s manufacturing, energy and technology sectors, as well as top government officials since Moscow launched the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
