US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if all NATO countries stopped buying oil from Russia and raised the tariffs on China to 100 per cent for its purchases of Russian petroleum.
In a letter addressed to the NATO members, Trump claimed that the commitment of NATO to winning the war "has been far less than 100%" and the purchase of Russian oil by some members of the alliance is shocking. As if speaking to them, Trump said, "It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia."
NATO member Turkiye has been the third largest buyer of Russian oil, after China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Other members of the 32-state alliance involved in purchasing Russian oil include Hungary and Slovakia.
"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," he said in the letter.
According to Trump, placing 50 per cent to 100 per cent tariffs on China, to be fully withdrawn after the war with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ending the war.
Trump observed that China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful tariffs will break that grip.
The letter comes at a tense moment in the conflict after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally.
