The U.S. president said only a unified embargo and sweeping trade duties would cut off Moscow’s war funding.
President Donald Trump said on Sept. 13 that he is prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia, but only once all NATO allies commit to halting purchases of Russian oil, tying the move to a broader plan that also includes steep tariffs on China.
In a statement posted Sept. 13 on Truth Social, Trump accused some NATO members of undermining the alliance’s leverage against Moscow by continuing to buy Russian energy, despite pledges to wind down such imports.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA,” Trump wrote.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when?”
He said that a unified embargo, combined with tariffs on China in the range of 50 to 100 percent, would quickly end the war in Ukraine by cutting off Russia’s economic lifelines.
“This is not TRUMP’S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!),” Trump added.
“I am only here to help stop it, and save thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives.”
Trump’s post came after a call on Friday with G7 finance ministers, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pressed allies to match Washington’s tariffs on countries buying Russian oil.
“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” they said in a statement, adding that the United States was “encouraged” by assurances of stronger sanctions and the possible use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
Sanctions Pressure Builds
Trump’s statement follows remarks he made at the White House on Sept. 7, when he signaled a readiness to advance a second phase of sanctions against Moscow.
After Russia hit Ukraine with one of the largest barrages of drones and missiles of the war, a reporter asked Trump if he was prepared to respond with sanctions, to which the president replied: “Yeah, I am,” though he did not provide additional details.
By Tom Ozimek
