Trump told European leaders that Russia earned about 1.1 billion euros from fuel sales to the EU over the past year.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed European leaders to halt purchases of Russian oil that are funding the war in Ukraine and urged them to place economic pressure on Beijing for supporting the Kremlin’s war effort, a White House official told The Epoch Times.
Trump participated via a call in a summit of Ukraine’s top allies, the “coalition of the willing,” hosted in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron.
During his speech, Trump pointed out that Russia earned about 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) from fuel sales to the European Union over the past year, revenue he said is helping sustain the Kremlin’s military campaign. He also stressed the need for coordinated economic pressure on China, accusing Beijing of assisting Moscow.
At the Sept. 4 summit, the coalition leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the shape of security guarantees that will be provided to Kyiv.
The summit in Paris, attended by nearly 30 leaders either in person or virtually, focused on what sort of military contributions they could make to Ukraine to deter Russia from attacking again, in the event of a final peace agreement.
The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, and several NATO member countries in Europe, as well as Turkey, Australia, and Canada, joined the summit.
Speaking after the summit, Macron said that if Russia continues to reject peace talks, there would be new sanctions in coordination with Washington.
The meeting comes as Trump’s two-week deadline for a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin nears.
Trump told reporters on Sept. 3 that he has no message for Putin but hinted that new sanctions could be on the way.
“I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand,” Trump said during a meeting with Poland’s newly elected president, Karol Nawrocki, at the White House.
“And he‘ll make a decision one way or the other. Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy. And if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen.”
By Emel Akan
