Trump threatens Russia with “very powerful customs duties, which would stop the bloodshed very quickly”, but takes the collimator and the European allies

US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Russia that he is prepared to impose severe economic measures in relation to the Ukraine war, in a combative speech addressed to the UN General Assembly in New York, CNN and The Guardian.

In his first UN speech since returning to power in January, Trump has addressed dozens of world leaders, many of them being worried that the United States is moving away from traditional alliances in favor of an isolationist policy such as “America First”.

Trump's warning to Russia came up with a turn. He said he wants the US allies to impose the same measures on the Moscow he proposes, to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw from the largest war after World War II.

The US president has warned several times about the possibility of imposing sanctions against Russia, but has not yet switched to facts. Recently, he asked Europe to stop all Russian oil purchases before taking punitive measures – especially customs duties – tougher than the Russian economy.

“If Russia is not prepared to conclude an agreement to put an end to the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a series of very powerful (customs) rates, which, I think, would stop the bloodshed very quickly,” said the White House leader in his UN speech.

But for the measures to be effective, added Trump, “European nations, all those gathered here, should join us adopting exactly the same measures.”

The US president has planned a meeting later on Tuesday with Ukrainian leader Volodimir Zelenski, as confirmed yesterday the White House.

Critics to European countries

Thus, Trump has criticized European countries because they continue to purchase oil and gas from Russia, insisting that it will not apply new sanctions to the Ukraine war until the states on the European continent will cease purchases.

“It's embarrassing for them and it was very embarrassing for them when I learned about it,” Trump said. “It has to immediately cease all the energy purchases in Russia. Otherwise, we all lose a long time,” he added.

“You are much closer to the city. We have an ocean between us. You are right there, and Europe has to intensify efforts. They (Europeans, no) cannot continue to do what they do. They buy oil and gas from Russia,” Trump said.

The European countries have dramatically reduced their Russian oil acquisitions after the invasion of Ukraine, but continue to purchase natural gas. Two countries, Hungary and Slovakia, represent most of the European Russian oil acquisitions.

Trump has identified China and India as “the main financiers of the ongoing war, by continuing Russian oil acquis”, but accused the European countries that they also contribute to this.

Turkey, another NATO member country, is the third largest Russian oil buyer in 2023, after China and India, according to the Center for Energy and Clean Energy.

The US president has acknowledged that European leaders would not “delight” to hear his public reproach, “but that's the way.”

Previously, Trump said that, in his opinion, the Ukraine war would have been easier to solve “because of my relationship with President Putin, who has always been a good one.”

However, the data show that the US imported Uranium and Russian plutonium worth $ 755 million this year, increasing compared to $ 624 million during the Biden administration.

Asked about this, the US secretary of internal Doug Burgum said on Sunday, for CNN, aboard the Air Force One: “The purchase of Uranium from Russia by the US is not acceptable. So we work very intense … to ensure that we have a plan by which the United States can return as soon as possible to domestic uranium production.”

In front of the United Nations leadership and over 150 leaders of the world present at the General Assembly, Donald Trump also launched charges on the UN, in a speech of almost an hour, denouncing that the international organization did not contact him in relation to various wars that he praised.