Washington (TDI): The US President, Donald Trump, has stated on Tuesday that the US would impose tariffs and other similar measures on Russia “10 days from today” if it does not make any progress towards ending the war with Ukraine.
Earlier on Monday, the US President announced that he would be shortening the initial deadline given to Russia from 50 days to 10 days, and unless progress is made, Russia and the buyers of its exports would face sanctions. Moscow has not commented on the latest warnings yet.
President Trump also told reporters that he was not concerned about the possible impact of Russian sanctions on the international oil markets and said that he would boost domestic oil production to offset any potential impacts on US economy.
President Trump said, “I don’t know if it’s going to affect Russia, because he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wants to obviously keep the war going, … But we’re going to put on tariffs and the various other things that you put on.”
Read More: Zelensky Proposes Ceasefire Talks Amid Trump’s 50-day Window
Since President Trump assumed office earlier in January, he has been making efforts to restore relations between the United States and Russia and has also spoken about having good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, in the past few months, the US President and his administration had grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s refusal to cooperate and agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
The recent 10-day deadline indicates that the US President, this time around, is ready to move forward with his threat of imposing sanctions on Russia.
On the other hand, the Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, responded to the decision of US President and said, “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia,” and that each new ultimatum given to Russia is a threat and a step towards war, not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.
Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things:
1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran.
2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) July 28, 2025
Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary of the United States, told the reporters that he highlighted the issue of secondary sanctions during the bilateral trade talks with the Chinese officials this week, and said that China could face higher tariffs if it continues to buy oil from Russia.
President Trump has been struggling to achieve a peace deal not only with Russia, but also in Gaza. It is important to note that during his election campaigns, the US President had made several promises to bring an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine within a day.
But despite several negotiation attempts brokered by the Trump Administration, both Russia and Ukraine have been unable to reach a peace deal that could end the nearly four-year-long conflict.
Javaria Khalid is a writer and researcher, who specializes in Pakistan's Foreign Policy Analysis, transatlantic geopolitics, and Pakistan’s relations with the European countries and the EU. She can be reached at javariakhalid011@outlook.com
