President Trump warns Russia of 'economic war' if peace with Ukraine fails

Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported on the morning of August 27 that US President Donald Trump made the above statement during a Cabinet meeting on August 26.

President Trump stressed that the United States will not engage in a “world war” but is ready to use severe economic measures to stop the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine.

“I want it (the war) to stop. It will not be a world war, but it will be an economic war. And that economic war will be very bad, it will be very bad for the Russian Federation – I do not want that,” the US leader said.

Regarding the possibility of negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump noted: “You know, it takes two to tango, and I still say it – it takes two to bring them together.”

President Trump affirmed that he has a good relationship with President Zelensky, emphasizing that the US “is not spending any money on Ukraine right now”, creating a “completely different relationship”.

The US leader also referred to the heavy losses on the battlefield. He said “Last week, 7,012 soldiers died,” without distinguishing whether they were Russian or Ukrainian, adding: “In the last few weeks, 12,000 have died,” and repeated that only he can end the war.

President Trump asserted that he could resolve the situation “by imposing sanctions… or by using a very strong tariff system – that would be extremely costly for the Russian Federation, for Ukraine, or for anybody.”

Earlier, President Trump announced a shift in the provision of weapons to Ukraine.

The Russian Federation's RT channel on the evening of August 25, local time, quoted US President Donald Trump's statement on the same day to reporters at the White House, saying that the US is no longer directly funding Ukraine and will instead profit from selling weapons to members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Europe, which will then supply these weapons to Kiev.

President Trump said Washington had been “ripped off” by previous US administrations, which had pledged up to $350 billion in funding to Kiev.

“I don’t blame Ukraine… if they come in and offer $100 billion and they get it,” President Trump said, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “the best salesman I’ve ever met.”

“We’re not paying Ukraine any money anymore. You know what? It’s actually the other way around. They send their requests through NATO. We work with NATO. We’re not really working with Ukraine directly. NATO pays us in full and they do what they want,” Trump explained.

President Trump also stressed that Washington would only play a supporting role in making any security commitments to Kiev, and stressed that European nations needed to play the lead role.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on August 25, President Trump stressed: “Europe will provide them (Ukraine) with important security guarantees – and they should, because they are right there,” and added that Washington will remain involved “in a backup position.”

According to RT, this is not the first time President Trump has clarified Washington's role in resolving the Ukraine conflict.

On August 18 in the Oval Office, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky present, President Trump was asked whether security guarantees for Kiev could include US troops.

He then replied: “Maybe later today, we will let you know, because we will be meeting with the leaders of the seven major countries. There will be a lot of support. Europe is the first line of defense because they are right there, but we will help, we will participate.”