President Donald Trump said he’s “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin and would consider “secondary tariffs” on Russian oil if a ceasefire with Ukraine can’t be reached, NBC News reported.
Trump said he was “very angry” about recent comments by Putin suggesting ways to install a new leadership in Ukraine and sideline President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, NBC reported, citing a phone interview with Trump on Sunday.
“I was pissed off about it. But if a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia,” Trump said. He told NBC he plans to speak to Putin this week.
Putin has been testing Trump to see how far he can go in pressing Europe to ease sanctions on Russia. Trump portrayed his threat against Putin as a bargaining tool.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” he said.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all – on all oil, a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil,” he said.
Read more: Putin Tests How Far Trump Will Go Against Europe on Sanctions
While Ukraine has said it would immediately observe a ceasefire, the Kremlin appeared to catch the White House off guard by declaring that its participation was dependent on removing sanctions on Russian Agricultural Bank, or RSHB, and other financial institutions involved in foreign trade in food and fertilizers.
After three days of negotiations in Saudi Arabia last week, the US announced on Tuesday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to the Black Sea truce as the next stage in Trump’s efforts to end the war, following their acceptance of a 30-day halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.
Trump on Monday appeared to invent a new economic statecraft tactic by threatening what he dubbed “secondary tariffs” on countries that buy oil from Venezuela to choke off its oil trade with other nations.
The threat, confirmed in an executive order by Trump, said countries could face 25% tariffs on trade with the US if they purchase oil and gas from Venezuela, which is already under heavy US sanctions. The move was meant to pressure Venezuela for the “tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals” that Trump said Venezuela has sent to the US.