President Trump meets with NATO’s secretary general
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs targeting Russia if a ceasefire with Ukraine isn't reached.
The president announced the deal at an Oval Office meeting Monday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who is in Washington D.C. to finalize a deal for the U.S. to sell weapons to NATO for Ukraine.
"Ukraine can get his hands on really massive numbers of military equipment, both for air defense, but also missiles, ammunition, etc, etc. So if I was Vladimir Putin today, and hear you're speaking about what you are planning to do in 50 days and these announcements, I would reconsider whether I should not take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously than I was doing at the moment, if I was Vladimir Putin."
Mark Rutte, Secretary General, NATO
President Trump told reporters he has had friendly conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but has become frustrated with Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine.
"I'm disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn't seem to get there. So based on that, we're going to be doing secondary tariffs. If we don't have a deal in 50 days, it's very simple, and they'll be at 100% and that's the way it is. That can be more simple. It's just the way it is. I hope we don't have to do it."
President Donald Trump
The meeting comes after a recent escalation in the war.
A U.N. report released last week found Russia launched more aerial attacks in June than in any other month of the war so far, causing the highest number of civilians killed or wounded since the conflict broke out more than three years ago.
