Trump says sanctions against Russia on hold as he is waiting for peace deal
US President Donald Trump has said he is postponing the introduction of new sanctions against Russia pending a possible agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Source: a statement by Trump to journalists at the G7 summit in Canada, quoted by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne
Details: Trump said he was waiting to see whether the agreement to end the Russo-Ukrainian war would be signed.
When asked by a journalist whether the US supports Europe's call for new sanctions, Trump replied, "well Europe is saying that, but they haven't done it yet".
When asked why the US is not imposing sanctions on its own right now, he said that he was waiting to see if the deal would be signed.
Quote from Trump: "When I sanction a country, that costs the US a lot of money – a tremendous amount of money.
It's not just, let's sign a document. You're talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that easy. It's not just a one-way street."
Background:
- Trump said that Russia's exclusion from the G8 in 2014 was a big mistake and that had it not happened, there would have been no war in Ukraine.
- During his first presidential term, Trump proposed that Russia should be reinstated to the G8, and he has continued to do so since the beginning of his second term.
- On Monday 16 June, he arrived at his first G7 summit since returning to the White House.
- Trump plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.
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