US President Donald Trump has said that he is willing to impose more sanctions on Russia, but Europe must act in a way that is equivalent to what Washington is doing.
"Europe is buying oil from Russia. I don't want them to buy oil, and the sanctions that they're putting on are not tough enough. I'm willing to do sanctions, but they're going to have to toughen up their sanctions commensurate with what I'm doing," he told reporters on Sunday while returning to the White House from Morristown, New Jersey.
His message echoed his sentiment on Saturday, when he wrote a letter addressed to NATO countries and the world on the US social media platform Truth Social, which he owns, that he is "ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA."
He added that NATO's commitment to confronting Russia has been "far less than 100 percent" and described continued purchases of Russian oil by "some" as "shocking."
Trump had earlier threatened secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil if there was no progress in ending the war in Ukraine.
He has already imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil.
The G7 countries and the European Union have imposed a price cap on Russian oil. In response, Russia increased sales of oil to countries such as China and India.
The 27-member bloc has pledged to completely phase out imports of Russian oil and gas by January 1, 2028.
Fight continues
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said that Ukrainian forces had advanced in border districts of the northern Sumy region, an area where Russian troops have tried for months to establish a foothold.
Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address, also quoted Ukraine's top commander as saying Moscow's forces had suffered significant losses in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions along the 1,000-km frontline.
Zelenskyy was speaking after a week of Russian statements underscoring what Moscow described as gains in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
"There are good results in the border areas of the Sumy region," Zelenskyy said, citing top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. "Our units are continuing to advance in the direction of Ukraine's state border."
