Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly today, U.S. President Donald J. Trump accused China and India of being the primary financial backers of Russia’s war in Ukraine and criticized NATO members for continuing to buy Russian energy.
“Inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off Russian energy and Russian energy products. I only found out about this two weeks ago, and I wasn’t happy. Think about it — they’re funding the war against themselves. Who’s ever heard of that?” Trump said.
He went on to warn that if Russia refuses to negotiate an end to the conflict, the United States is ready to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” that he believes would “end the bloodshed very quickly.” But he emphasized that the tariffs would only be effective if European nations joined in:
“You’re much closer to this conflict — we have an ocean between us. Europe has to step it up. They can’t keep doing what they’re doing — buying oil and gas from Russia while fighting Russia. It’s embarrassing. They need to immediately stop all energy purchases from Russia.”