President Trump does not want to tighten sanctions against Russia.
The US President noted that he hopes to reach agreements on Ukraine soon.
According to TASS on June 17, US President Donald Trump said that he does not want to tighten sanctions against Russia, hoping to reach an agreement on Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis (Alberta, Canada), journalists asked the US leader why he wasn't imposing new restrictions on Moscow. President Trump replied: "Because I'm waiting for an agreement on a peaceful solution in Ukraine to be signed soon. Don't forget that sanctions cost us a lot of money. When I impose sanctions on any country, the US pays a lot of money, a lot of money. Let's sign an agreement to resolve the conflict. We're talking billions of dollars. Sanctions aren't that easy. This isn't a one-way street."
According to the White House, "money has nothing to do with this." Trump expressed that he would be "very happy" if he could prevent the conflict.
"You might ask, what am I doing? But I want to see if I can stop the conflict," Trump said.
When asked to comment on calls from some European countries to impose additional restrictions on Russia, Trump said: "Europe says it. But Europe hasn't done anything yet. Let them do it first."
In early April 2025, a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. Senate introduced a bill with sanctions against Russia. This initiative also stipulated secondary restrictions on Moscow's trading partners. The U.S. Senators' proposal mandated a 500% tariff on imports into the U.S. from countries that purchase oil, gas, uranium, and other goods from Russia.
A similar initiative has been presented in the U.S. House of Representatives. Senator Rand Paul (Republican, from Kentucky) warned that "the nation that would suffer the most" as a result of passing this bill would be the United States itself – "both economically and strategically."
