Tariff threats: Trump wants to shorten deadline for Putin

Two weeks ago, Trump threatened Russia with tariffs of around 100 percent if there was no deal for a ceasefire or peace agreement before the deadline.

"I am disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed"

With regard to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Trump once again expressed his disappointment. "I thought we had worked this out many times. And then President Putin goes and starts firing missiles at a city like Kiev and kills a lot of people in a nursing home," he said. "I am disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed."

So far 50 days for solution

Trump had set the 50-day deadline on July 14 to persuade Russia to reach an agreement. The Republican announced the move at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House, where both had confirmed arms deliveries for Ukraine. He spoke of "secondary tariffs", i.e. tariffs against Russia's trading partners, amounting to around 100 percent.

This could further weaken the Kremlin's economic base by putting more pressure on major customers such as China and India in particular. Trump did not specify which countries could be affected.

However, Moscow was unimpressed by Trump's announcement and continued its attacks on Ukraine unabated in the days that followed. The Kremlin also criticized the announced arms deliveries and the threatened sanctions, rejecting them as detrimental to peace efforts.