Trump prepares new sanctions against Russia if a truce is not reached by the end of April
The goal of the Donald Trump administration is to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine by the end of this month, but if Russian leader Vladimir Putin has not agreed to a ceasefire until then, the United States is ready to impose new sanctions against Moscow – Axios reported today.
New sanctions can be introduced by executive decree or by law by Congress.
Special envoy Steve Vitkoff should convey Putin’s ultimatum to their today’s meeting. Secretary of State Marko Rubio said the United States would not wait in « months », but only a few weeks.
Although there have been more direct meetings between US and Russian officials in the past, no concrete agreement has been reached.
The White House already believes that the initial goal – the ceasefire to Easter – is elusive, and it is feared that a peace deal will not be reached in the coming months.
Sources for Fox News say Trump has been frustrated by Putin and is considering sanctions against the Russian Shadow Fleet and imposing high customs duties on Russian oil buyers. Meanwhile, the Kremlin retains hard positions and requires complete control over four Ukrainian areas, and a new territorial expansion is possible to achieve further negotiating maneuver.
