Trump unleashes on Putin while giving Ukraine new weapons

Perth Now

2 days ago

US President Donald Trump has threatened Russia with severe tariffs and agreed to an arms deal to funnel sophisticated weaponry into Kyiv in an attempt to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, where he made very clear he is losing his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin who has delayed ceasefire agreements for months.
'We are very, very unhappy with (Russia), and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days,' Mr Trump said.
'I'm disappointed in Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn't seem to get there.
'So based on that, 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 per cent. And that's the way it is.'
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The US President added that he has 'wonderful conversations' with Mr Putin over the phone, only to find out shortly after that more missiles have struck Ukraine.
'Every night, people are dying... A lot of Russian soldiers are dying, by the way — and a lot of Ukrainian soldiers, too.'
'I don't want to say he's an assassin but he's a tough guy,' Mr Trump added, noting that several of his predecessors had also become disillusioned with Putin.
The decision by Mr Trump to send arms to Ukraine represented a turning point for the US President, who has spent the early months of his term trying to coax Mr Putin into a ceasefire agreement, only to be turned down every time.
Under the deal, Mr Trump said the United States will supply weapons that will be paid for by NATO countries.
Mr Rutte said massive numbers of weapons would be sent, including missiles, as part of a first wave of equipment.
Mr Trump said the 'top of the line' equipment, including Patriot missile systems and batteries, would be arriving very soon.
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'We're going to have some come very soon, within days ... a couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patriots with the ones they have,' he said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has made regular appeals to the US and its NATO military alliance allies for weapons to help defend itself in the grinding war.
'If I was Vladimir Putin today, and you're speaking about what you are planning to do in 50 days ... I would reconsider whether I should not take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously,' Mr Rutte said.
A White House official said Mr Trump was referring to 100 per cent tariffs on Russian goods as well as secondary sanctions on other countries that buy its exports.
Still, Mr Trump's announcement of a 50-day grace period was greeted with relief by investors in Russia, where the rouble recovered from earlier losses and stock markets rose.
'Trump performed below market expectations. He gave 50 days during which the Russian leadership can come up with something and extend the negotiation track. Moreover, Trump likes to postpone and extend such deadlines,' said analyst Artyom Nikolayev from Invest Era, a financial information firm.
Mr Trump has been reluctant to punish Russia, but he came away from a recent phone call with Mr Putin disappointed that the Russian leader appeared prepared to continue the war.
Mr Rutte said Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada all want to be a part of rearming Ukraine.
'They all want to be part of this. And this is only the first wave. There will be more. So what we will do is work through the NATO systems to make sure that we know what Ukrainians need to make packages,' he said.
Mr Trump's promise that NATO would pay for the weapons satisfies his demand that the US not continue bankrolling the war and puts the financial burden on US allies in Europe.
- With Reuters