The White House appears to be losing its patience with Vladimir Putin, who continues to claim being open to peace negotiations while stepping up his attacks on Ukrainian cities over the past months. On 14 July, Donald Trump revealed his new plan for achieving peace in Ukraine: rearming Kiev while threatening Moscow’s economic partners with steep tariffs.
As part of a multi-billion-dollar agreement between NATO and the United States, Ukraine is set to receive a large amount of American military equipment paid for by several European countries in the Atlantic alliance. The US President has also announced the introduction of 100 percent tariffs against Russia’s economic partners if a peace agreement is not reached within 50 days.
However, with 50 days to prepare for sanctions, some believe that the Kremlin is getting off lightly. Others question whether such tariffs can even be enforced: they would inevitably damage diplomatic relations between the United States and countries like China, India and Turkey, which buy their oil from Russia.
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