President Donald Trump delivered a pointed message Wednesday when asked about his stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office. “Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy, and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen,” he added, hinting at possible consequences.
Trump grew visibly frustrated when pressed on whether his administration had taken meaningful action against Russia. “How do you know there’s no action? Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China… cost hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia? You call that no action?” he said.
The president suggested more punitive measures are on the table. “I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three,” he said, adding that India would face “big problems” if it continued purchasing Russian goods.
Despite Trump’s rhetoric, the administration has so far avoided imposing broader sanctions on Moscow, hoping to preserve space for potential peace talks with Ukraine.
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