Donald Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if Ukraine war is not resolved in 50 days

Mr Trump made the announcement during a meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte

US president Donald Trump met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in the Oval Office on Monday. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

Donald Trump said he would punish Russia with tariffs if there is not a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The US president made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Mr Trump said.

He did not provide specifics on how the tariffs would be implemented.

“I use trade for a lot of things,” he added.

“But it’s great for settling wars.”

President Donald Trump (Evan Vucci/AP)

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration’s policy on the three-year war.

Mr Rutte also planned to hold talks with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio, as well as members of Congress.

Mr Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts.

Mr Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Mr Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal.

At the same time, Mr Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of prolonging the war and called him a “dictator without elections.”

But Russia’s relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Mr Trump’s patience. In April, Mr Trump urged Mr Putin to “STOP!” launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader “ has gone absolutely CRAZY!” as the bombardments continued.

“I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said,” Mr Trump said late on Sunday. “He’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”

Mr Zelenskyy said he and Mr Trump’s envoy, retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, had “a productive conversation” about strengthening Ukrainian air defences, joint arms production and purchasing US weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.

“We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its … ambitions are stopped by force,” Mr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.