Donald Trump said he ‘could do things that would be very bad for Russia’ if they do not agree to the 30-day ceasefire deal with Ukraine and that the US has “people going over there”
Donald Trump has threatened Vladimir Putin with “devastating” consequences if he does not sign a ceasefire deal.
The US president said “it’s up to Russia now” as he suggested he could hit the country with potential further sanctions after they rejected a proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, he said: “I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace.”
Trump then went on to refer to the fallout from the disastrous meeting in the Oval Office between himself and Zelensky, adding: “We’re getting close to maybe getting something done. As you know, I’ve always said that Ukraine might be the more difficult party. I had somebody that didn’t want peace, now he wants peace.”
He added: “So we have people going over there [to Moscow]. Mr. VP, you have anything to say about this? Because you’re very much involved.”
Vice President JD Vance said: “We’ve got some conversations that are happening on the phone and in person with some of our representatives over the next couple of days. As the President said, we think we’re in a very good place where the Ukrainians have agreed with ceasefire, and we’re going to see whether we can get the Russians to agree to a ceasefire too.”
It comes after US arms deliveries to Ukraine finally resumed on Wednesday following nine-hour talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday. The White House agreed to lift its suspension on military aid for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and also removed restrictions on sharing intelligence put in place last week. Speaking after the meeting in Jeddah, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said his country would “have contact” with Russia this week, adding that “the ball is truly in their court” and that rejection of the plan would “make their intentions clear”.
The Kremlin has still not issued any official response to the proposed 30-day ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was awaiting “detailed information” from the US, suggesting that Putin will not take any position on the plans before this has been received. The Kremlin has previously opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict, and is yet to offer any concessions.
Defence minister John Healey meanwhile said on Thursday evening that European nations would come “ever closer together” in the weeks ahead as hopes grow of a potential truce between Kyiv and Moscow. He said: “The UK and France are jointly leading work on planning to drive the push for peace and drive the arrangements for security guarantees for Ukraine. We are doing this work together, we are cooperating closely with partner nations, we are looking to build a coalition of the willing from Europe and beyond, and from today we are accelerating that work.”
His comments came after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland – the so-called “E5” nations which spend the most within NATO – on Thursday. He added that Prime Minister Keir Starmer would host another leaders’ summit on Saturday, before further meetings between senior military officers next week.
