Trump hints at no more US sanctions on Russia at G7 summit - Politico

U.S. President Donald Trump at the G7 summit suggested that he would not impose new sanctions against Russia, saying that Europeans should "do it first" and that "sanctions cost us a lot of money", and that he "wants to continue trying to promote peace talks before applying further punitive measures to Russia", UNN writes with reference to Politico.

Details

The EU and Great Britain insisted on more coordinated sanctions against Vladimir Putin's regime at a meeting of leaders in Canada, but the US president has so far refused to sign up to new measures.

Asked on Monday whether he has unity with Europe on new sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Trump replied: "Well, Europe says so, but hasn't done it yet."

"Let's see how they do it first," he told reporters during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Kier Starmer.

He added: "When I impose sanctions on a country, it costs the US a huge amount of money - a colossal amount of money."

"It's not just, let's sign the document. You're talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that simple. It's not just a one-way street," Trump said.

The US president said he "wants to continue trying to promote stalled peace talks before applying further punitive measures to Russia," the publication writes.

Addendum

The EU is calling for a reduction in the price ceiling on Russian oil - a key sanction against Putin - from $60 to $45.

This measure will further deprive the head of the Kremlin of profits to wage war against Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday: "We must put more pressure on Russia to achieve a real ceasefire, bring Russia to the negotiating table and end this war, sanctions are crucial to this."

Von der Leyen: G7 must increase pressure on Russia16.06.25, 09:56 • 2956 views

British officials said Starmer also privately supports efforts to lower the oil price ceiling, although the British prime minister has not made this clear publicly.

On Monday, Starmer insisted that Russia "does not hold all the cards" in its war against Ukraine - in an apparent rebuke to Trump.

The British Prime Minister said that his fellow leaders "must take this moment to increase economic pressure and show President Putin that it is in his interest and in the interest of Russia to demonstrate that he is serious about peace."

"Starmer's decision to refer to Trump's now infamous line of attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from their stormy White House meeting on February 28, that he "has no cards," is likely to be seen as an attempt to push the U.S. president into action," the publication writes. However, Downing Street, as indicated, rejected this characterization.

Starmer made the comments Monday evening, announcing that he and other leaders plan to announce new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday at a summit in Canada. However, Downing Street declined to provide details of what the package contains.

Trump has become more publicly critical of Putin in recent weeks, amid the Russian president's barrage of new attacks on civilians across Ukraine, the publication writes.

The six other G7 leaders are also said to be trying to persuade Trump to sign a joint statement on de-escalation of the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Canadian Prime Minister Marc Carney met on the sidelines of the summit on Sunday evening to discuss the conflict and other issues.

Trump told reporters on Monday at the summit that "Iran is not going to win this war, and they should talk, and talk immediately, before it's too late."