Over the summer, Trump’s approach to the Kremlin shifted, with his administration increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin as the Russian leader resists Trump’s attempts to facilitate direct peace negotiations with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I stopped seven wars, and I thought this one would be easy for me, but it’s proven to be challenging,” Trump said Sunday, discussing the Russian invasion. “I think I have to do all the talking. They [Zelenskyy and Putin] detest each other. They detest each other so much they can’t stand it.”
As Trump’s firmer stance hasn’t led to Putin beginning talks with Zelenskyy, there’s growing demand for the U.S. to impose stricter sanctions on Russia. Trump stated on Sunday that he intends to implement these, but only after Europe ceases buying Russian oil and strengthens its sanctions approach.
Although Trump considers European nations as his “friends,” he criticized them for “still buying oil from Russia. I don’t want them to buy oil. And the sanctions they are imposing are not stringent enough.”
Hungary and Slovakia are the leading EU importers of Russian energy and have resisted the European Commission’s efforts to discontinue its use.
On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told POLITICO that the U.S. aims “to replace all Russian gas,” stating: “The more we can stifle Russia’s capacity to finance this brutal war, the better for everyone.”













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