Latest Trump promises 'major statement' on Russia-Ukraine war as he hosts NATO leader

Washington, Jul 14 (AP) NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will be in Washington today and tomorrow for talks with President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as members of Congress.
     Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin “'talks nice and then he bombs everybody" as he confirmed the US is sending Patriot missiles to Kyiv and plans sell NATO allies weaponry to pass on to Ukraine. Trump has teased a “major statement” on Russia on Monday.
    Over the weekend, Trump threatened new 30 per cent tariffs against Mexico and the European Union to be implemented August 1 despite ongoing negotiations. Last week, he also threatened a 35 per cent tax on many Canadian goods and warned of a 50 per cent tax on Brazil in an attempt to impact the criminal trial against former president Jair Bolsonaro.
    And a federal judge ordered a halt Friday to indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including LA, after plaintiffs including two US citizens who were detained, accused the administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people.
    
     Here's the latest:
    
     Europe forges response to Trump's surprise tariffs threat
     European trade ministers are meeting in Brussels following Trump's surprise announcement of 30 per cent tariffs on the European Union.
    “We should prepare to be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox,” said Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told reporters ahead of the meeting. “So we want a deal, but there's an old saying: 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.”
    If Trump makes good on his tariff threats against dozens of countries, it could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy.
    
     The European Union is suspending Monday's retaliatory tariffs
     "This is now the time for negotiations,'' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday after Trump sent a letter announcing new 30 per cent tariffs on all EU goods starting August 1.
    The America's biggest trading partner and the world's largest trading bloc had been scheduled to impose "countermeasures'' starting Monday at midnight.
    "We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,'' she said. If they can't reach a deal, she said that ?we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared."
    
     Trump to meet with NATO leader
     Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, is visiting to meet with Trump. Their meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET in the Oval Office.
    Trump is expected to move forward with a plan to sell weapons to European allies who can then transfer the weapons to Ukraine.
    The president has grown frustrated with Russia's Vladimir Putin and has promised a “major statement” on Monday. (AP) PY
PY

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)