Roving Periscope: After praising Putin, Trump threatens Russia!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After praising Vladimir Putin recently, US President Donald Trump has now threatened Russia with oil penalties, saying he was “very angry” at his Russian counterpart!
Trump on Sunday threatened “secondary tariffs” on buyers of Russian oil if Putin refuses a ceasefire with Ukraine, adding later that he didn’t think the Russian President would “go back on his word,” the media reported on Monday.
According to an NBC News report, he said he was “pissed off” and “very angry” at Putin for casting doubt on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as a negotiating partner, and threatened curbs on “all oil coming out of Russia.”
Interestingly, Trump had a publicly-broadcast diplomatic showdown with Zelenskyy also recently, making him even leave the White House in a huff.
The US President appeared to then temper his remarks on possible sanctions or other measures when speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, suggesting some room for negotiation and prompting oil prices to pare early gains in Asia.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to put secondary tariffs on Russia,” Trump told reporters, saying he was “disappointed” with some of Putin’s recent comments on Zelenskyy. “He’s supposed to be making a deal with him, whether you like him or don’t like him. So, I wasn’t happy with that. But I think he’s going to be good.”
At the same time, Trump maintained pressure on Zelenskiy, who has even ‘predicted’ Putin’s death, to agree to a deal with Russia to give the US access to Ukraine’s resources.
“He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal and if he does that he’s got some problems — big, big problems,” Trump said. “If he’s looking to renegotiate the deal, he’s got big problems.”
Russia is one of the world’s three largest oil producers, meaning any attempt to punish purchases of Russian supplies could have a far-reaching effect on the oil market, and any disruptions could add to inflationary pressures. Sunday’s threats mark a significant change of tone for Washington, and reflect a growing frustration in the Trump administration, Bloomberg reported.
Should the US press ahead, India and China, which have become the key buyers of discounted Russian barrels since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, would face particular pressure. Russian crude exports hit a five-month high in March and US sanctions on Russia’s oil tanker fleet are showing signs of faltering.
Trump also said he’s considering punishing Tehran with unspecified “secondary tariffs” and raised the threat of bombing Iran until it signs a deal that renounces nuclear weapons.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” NBC cited Trump as saying.
Iran told Trump in response to his overture that it won’t hold talks with his administration, though indirect communications with the US remain a possibility,
Oil prices edged higher at the open on Monday and gold hit a new record — but both cooled as Trump moderated his threats. In Asian morning trade, Brent’s June contract slipped toward USD 72 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near USD 69.
The US said last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a Black Sea truce as the next stage in Trump’s efforts to end the war, following their acceptance of a 30-day halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.
While Ukraine said it would immediately observe the ceasefire, the Kremlin demanded the removal of sanctions on Russian Agricultural Bank, or RSHB, and other financial institutions involved in foreign trade in food and fertilizers.
Trump last week appeared to invent a new economic statecraft tactic by threatening secondary tariffs on countries that buy oil from Venezuela to choke off its oil trade with other nations.
The threat, confirmed in an executive order by Trump, said countries could face 25 percent tariffs on trade with the US if they purchase oil and gas from Venezuela, which is already under heavy US sanctions. The move was meant to pressure Venezuela for the “tens of thousands of high-level, and other, criminals” that Trump said Venezuela has sent to the US.
