Trump urges Nato to halt Russian oil imports, push tougher sanctions

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday called on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) countries to stop purchasing oil from Russia and to jointly impose tough sanctions to pressure Moscow into ending the war in Ukraine.

 

“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,” Trump said in a social media post.

 

He also suggested that Nato as a bloc impose tariffs of 50-100% on China, arguing it would weaken Beijing’s economic influence over Russia.  Trump in his post said that a NATO ban on Russian oil plus tariffs on China would “also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.”  “China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia," Trump posted, and powerful tariffs “will break that grip.”

 

The appeal follows Trump’s repeated warnings of stricter sanctions on Moscow and the threat of secondary penalties on countries that continue buying Russian oil, including China and India. Recently, he imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its ongoing imports from Russia, though no similar action has been taken against China.