Sanctions likely if Putin doesn’t negotiate: Trump
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is ready to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin anytime, but at the same time warned that he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if the latter does not come to the negotiations table on the issue of Ukraine.
“It sounds likely,” Trump told reporters when asked if the US will impose additional sanctions on Russia if Putin doesn’t come to the negotiation table.
“The war should have never started. If you had a competent President, which you didn’t, the war wouldn’t have happened. The war in Ukraine would have never happened if I were the president,” Trump said.
“Russia never would have gone into Ukraine. I had a very strong understanding with Putin. That would have never, ever happened. He disrespected Biden. Very simple. He disrespects people. He’s smart. He understands. He disrespected Biden,” Trump said.
“Also, West Asia would have never happened because Iran was broke,” he added.
Responding to a query, Trump said he is ready to meet Putin anytime.
“Anytime they want, I’ll meet. Millions of people are being killed... It’s a vicious situation and they’re now largely soldiers. A lot of people have been killed and the cities look like demolition sites,” he said.
“The thing with Ukraine is that many more people died than what you’re reporting. You’re not reporting the real numbers, and I’m not blaming you for that. I’m blaming maybe our government for not wanting to release those numbers,” Trump told reporters.
Asked if the US will continue sending weapons to Ukraine, or will he turn off the tap soon, Trump said he is looking into the matter.
“We’ll look into that. We’re talking to (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy. We’re going to talk with President Putin very soon, and we’ll see how it all happens. We’re going to look at it very soon,” he said.
“One thing I do feel is that the European Union should pay a lot more than they’re paying, because under Biden, I mean, we’re in there for USD 200 billion more. Now it affects them... We have an ocean in between, right? The European Union should equal us. We’re in there for USD 200 billion more than the European Union. I mean, what are we, stupid? I guess the answer is yes,” the president said.
Trump also said that Ukraine’s President Zelensky told him that he would like to have peace.
“He’s told me that wants to have peace very strongly, but it takes two to tango. We’ll see what happens. Anytime they want, I’ll meet. I’d like to see that end. Millions of people are being killed. It’s a vicious situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, refugees who had been approved to travel to the US before a January 27 deadline suspending America's refugee resettlement programme have had their travel plans cancelled by the Trump administration. Thousands of refugees are now stranded at various locations around the globe. The suspension was in an executive order signed by Trump on Monday.
The executive order to suspend refugee admissions has magnified the fears of one Afghan American soldier who has long been worried about the fate of his sister in Kabul. The soldier is afraid his sister could be forced to marry a Taliban fighter or targeted by a for-ransom kidnapping before she and her husband could fly out of Afghanistan and resettle as refugees in the United States.
‘Open to Musk buying TikTok’
Trump said on Tuesday he was open to billionaire Elon Musk buying social media app TikTok if the Tesla CEO wanted to do so. The short-format video app used by 170 million Americans was taken offline temporarily for users shortly before a law that said it must be sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance on national security grounds, or be banned, took effect on Sunday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Chinese officials were in preliminary talks about a potential option to sell TikTok’s operations in the United States to Musk, though the company has denied that.
‘Put diversity, equity staff on leave’
Trump escalated his campaign against diversity programmes on Tuesday by pressuring the private sector to join the initiative, ordering aviation officials to review diversity hires and telling government DEI employees they would be placed on paid leave. The measures come one day after Trump on his first day in office issued a series of executive orders to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, which attempt to promote opportunities for women and LGBTQ+ people.
