After threatening tariffs and targeting China over its purchase of Russian oil, US President Donald Trump has now shifted his focus to European allies. He signalled that he does not want European nations to continue buying oil from Russia and criticised their sanctions as “not tough enough.“Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump reiterated his longstanding concerns over the Ukraine war and his desire to mediate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
He said, “Europe is buying oil from Russia. I don’t want them to buy oil — and the sanctions that they’re putting on are not tough enough. I’m willing to do sanctions, but they’re going to have to toughen up their sanctions commensurate with what I’m doing.”Trump argued that Moscow benefits financially from oil sales and its key buyers. He has repeatedly called out India, China, and now European countries for purchasing Russian oil — even imposing a 50 per cent tariff on India over what he called its “massive oil purchase” from Russia.Recently, Trump urged Nato allies to sanction Beijing at rates of 50 to 100 per cent, accusing China of funding Russia and strengthening its military capacity in the Ukraine conflict. Beijing responded indirectly, with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi saying China is committed to “promoting peace talks to resolve hot-spot issues,” and that “wars cannot solve problems and sanctions would only complicate them.”China also clarified that “it does not participate in or plan wars” and emphasised dialogue, while calling for closer cooperation with Europe. Wang Yi made these remarks during his meeting with Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon.Notably, in this latest push, Trump left India out of his criticism, amid signs Washington and New Delhi are working on a separate agreement.
