Donald Trump is disappointed but not done with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House chief of staff said in an exclusive interview with the BBC, hours after announcing plans to send weapons to Ukraine and impose heavy taxes on Russia if a ceasefire agreement is not reached within 50 days.
In the Oval Office interview, the President also expressed support for NATO, an alliance he had once described as obsolete, and reaffirmed support for the principle of mutual defense, A2 writes.
The president reiterated his frustration with the Kremlin chief, saying he had led him to believe on four occasions that they were close to a deal. Earlier, at the White House, he warned of 100 percent tariffs on Russia and countries that do business with it.
"One of the reasons we're here today is to hear that we're very unhappy, I'm very unhappy with Russia, but we'll talk more about that later. We're going to put tough tariffs on if we don't get a deal in 50 days. 100 percent tariffs, you call them secondary tariffs, you know what they are," Trump said.
The secondary tariffs would target countries like China and India, which would find it impossible to sell products purchased from Russia to the US under the new tariffs. The NATO Secretary General also announced plans to send billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine, including Patriot air defense systems, which will be paid for by the EU.
As stated, the Patriot systems would arrive in Ukraine quickly, as European countries can send their systems to be replaced later with others that they will buy from America. Rutte emphasized: “If I were Vladimir Putin today and I heard you talk about what you plan to do in 50 days and about this announcement, I would reconsider whether I should take the negotiations for Ukraine more seriously. But, if I were Ukraine, I think this is really great news for them.”
While the announcement was greeted with enthusiasm in Kiev, the reaction of stock markets in Russia showed that Moscow did not welcome the announcement with concern. Shares rose only 2.8%, in a signal that the country and investors were prepared for even tougher measures from Trump. (A2 Televizion)
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