Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP
Eurasia
22/08/2025 23:29
‘I'm going to make a decision as to what we do, and it's going to be a very important decision,’ Trump told reporters. ‘And that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it's your fight.’
Trump expressed dissatisfaction over Russia’s recent strike on an American factory in Mukochevo, Transcarpathia - a region of Ukraine largely inhabited by ethnic Hungarians - that caused a fire and injured some employees. ‘I'm not happy about it, and I'm not happy about anything having to do with that war,’ he said during a White House press briefing.
It wasn't clear if Trump was referring to sanctions directly on Moscow or to so-called secondary measures targeting Russian oil buyers, such as India, China, or Brazil. India is currently hit with an additional 25 per cent tariff on certain exports to the U.S. since 6 August. BRICS major powers have vowed united action against U.S. secondary tariffs.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of blocking efforts to arrange a meeting with Putin. ‘The meeting is one of the components of how to end the war,’ Zelenskiy said at a press conference in Kyiv with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. ‘And since they don't want to end it, they will look for space to avoid it.’ Zelenskiy has repeatedly urged Putin to meet him, calling it the only path to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Trump confirmed that he had initiated preparations for a Putin–Zelenskiy meeting following a phone call with Putin on Monday, which came after their Alaska summit on 15 August. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC that no agenda exists for such talks. ‘Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskiy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all,’ Lavrov said, echoing Moscow’s stance that preconditions must be met before a leaders’ meeting can take place.
Asked about Lavrov’s remarks and the next steps, Trump said: ‘Well, we'll see. We're going to see if Putin and Zelenskiy will be working together. It's like oil and vinegar a little bit.’
Trump had initially removed sanctions from consideration ahead of his summit with Putin in Anchorage. However, at Friday’s White House event, he displayed a photograph of their meeting on the red carpet in Alaska and revealed that Putin expressed interest in attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States. ‘I'm going to sign this for him,’ Trump said, holding the photo. ‘But I was sent one, and I thought you would like to see it. It's a man named Vladimir Putin, who I believe will be coming, depending on what happens. He may be coming, and he may not, depending on what happens.’ Trump did not address that Russia remains banned from international competitions, including the World Cup, due to its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and has not participated in qualification for the 2026 tournament hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
In Russia, during a visit to a nuclear research center on Friday, Putin praised Trump’s leadership qualities. ‘With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed. And now we had a very good, meaningful, and frank meeting in Alaska,’ Putin said.
