One of President Donald Trump’s many recurring campaign themes in the 2024 election cycle was ending the Russo-Ukrainian war, which he promised to end very quickly while maintaining that it would not have begun had he been president. While there is no way to know if that latter part is true, on Wednesday the president took to his Truth Social platform to warn Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he must end the war, stating that he can do it “the easy way or the hard way.”
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President Trump warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine quickly, or else face “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions.”
Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to double-down on his criticisms of Putin and Russia’s hurting economy, warning Moscow that things would only get worse if the war doesn’t end soon.
“Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump urged.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” he wrote.
“Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way — and the easy way is always better,” he added.
We should note that this statement comes from the president’s Truth Social account; as of this writing, there has been no statement of any direct communication between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Tsar Vladimir I has, however, met with one of his chief geopolitical allies, China’s Xi Jinping, and indicated he was open to talks on ending the war – with a caveat.
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In a Tuesday meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin suggested he was open to talks with Trump on the future of the war, agreeing that a diplomatic end was the best solution so long as Russia’s needs were met.
“We hear the statements from Trump and members of his team about their desire to restore direct contact with Russia, which were halted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration,” Putin said during Trump’s inauguration.
“…[A]s long as Russia’s needs were met.” Ay, that’s the rub. At this juncture, we have no way of knowing what Tsar Vladimir’s idea of “Russia’s needs” might be, other than the retention of, at least, Crimea and the Black Sea port at Sevastopol, which Russia seized in 2014 during the presidency of Barack Obama. It’s a safe bet that any settlement that doesn’t leave Russia in charge of this strategic Black Sea port won’t “meet Russia’s needs,” and it’s unlikely to meet Ukranian desires.
Another sticking point is any possible future entry of Ukraine into NATO, which Putin has also repeatedly opposed.
See Related: Trump’s Foreign Policy Priorities Come Into Sharp Focus at Marco Rubio’s Confirmation Hearing
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It’s unclear yet as to when the president will take this matter up with Putin directly, although he has not ruled out a meeting with Russia and Ukraine in the past.
The president’s post reads in full:
I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!
The current war (as opposed to the Russian seizing of Crimea) between Russia and Ukraine has gone on since Russia’s invasion in February of 2022. Russian and Ukrainian casualties, and damage to civilian lives and properties, have been considerable, to say the least. Estimates of casualties on both sides vary but generally run into six figures of military personnel on each side killed or wounded, as well as tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed, injured, or detained.
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Also, American taxpayers have shoveled billions of dollars into supporting Ukraine. For that, if for no other reason, President Trump is right to seek to bring this conflict to an end.
This post was originally published on here
