Trump Meets Mark Rutte After Announcing Sanctions on Russia
The move marked the Trump administration’s most significant step yet to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as per The Hill report.
Speaking alongside Rutte, Trump said the decision to impose sanctions was long overdue, saying, “I just felt it was time. We waited a long time,” as quoted by The Hill.
The US president said, “It’s a very big day in terms of what we’re doing. These are tremendous sanctions. They’re big, these are against their two big oil companies and we hope they won’t be on for long. We hope that the war will be settled. We just answered having to do with various forms of missiles and everything else that we’re looking at, but we don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” as quoted in the report.
Republicans in the Senate have been pushing for their own sanctions package against Russia, though Trump has yet to authorize a vote, as per the report. He reiterated that he wants Moscow to agree to end the conflict along the current front lines and “just go home.”
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Trump Cancels Planned Putin Summit in Budapest
The sanctions announcement came shortly after Trump canceled a planned summit with Putin in Budapest, Hungary.Trump said that, “We canceled the meeting with President Putin,” adding, “It just didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future,” as quoted by The Hill.
Tense Call Between US and Russian Officials
The reversal followed a tense preparatory call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The White House confirmed Tuesday there were “no immediate plans” for a Trump-Putin meeting, as per the report.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó later said preparations for the summit were still ongoing and that timing was the only question.
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Trump Explains Why He Denied Ukraine Tomahawk Missiles
Trump also explained his decision not to provide long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, saying the weapon’s complexity was a major obstacle.
The US president said, “The problem with the Tomahawk that — a lot of people don’t know — it’ll take a minimum of six months, usually a year, to learn how to use them. They’re highly complex, so the only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it, and we’re not going to do that,” as quoted by The Hill.
Trump highlighted that, “But there is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk. It’s a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon, and maybe that’s what makes it so complex. But it will take a year,” adding, “It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it, and we’re not going to be teaching other people. It will be too far out into the future,” as quoted in the report.
Zelensky Says Meeting With Trump Was “Positive”
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described his meeting with Trump in Washington as “positive,” though he left without a commitment for the missiles, reported The Hill. Zelensky later said Trump’s decision weakened Russia’s motivation to pursue diplomacy.
Trump Signals Action Against Drug Cartels
Trump said his administration might seek congressional authorization to launch strikes against drug cartels operating on land.
He said, “We will hit them very hard when they come in by land. And they haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that. We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we [they] come to the land,” as quoted by The Hill.
The administration has already conducted lethal strikes on drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, resulting in at least 32 deaths. Earlier Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that US forces carried out their first strike in the East Pacific, killing two “narco-terrorists,” as per the report.
The maritime campaign has faced pushback from Democrats and Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who questioned its legality. Trump, however, insisted his administration had the authority to act, calling it “a national security problem.”
Trump Eyes Trade and Nuclear Deal with China
Looking ahead to his trip to Asia, Trump said he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hopes to reach a sweeping agreement, as per The Hill report.
He said, “We’ll make a deal on, I think, everything. I think we’re going to make a deal on soy beans and the farmers. I think we’re going to make a deal on maybe even nuclear [weapons],” as quoted in the report.
Trump dismissed China’s export controls on rare earth minerals, saying “tariffs are much more powerful than the rare earth,” quoted The Hill.
In response to Beijing’s move, the US announced retaliatory 100% tariffs set to take effect November 1 and the administration is also considering new restrictions on software-powered exports to China.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Asia later this week, with planned stops in Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, reported The Hill.
FAQs
Why did Trump impose new sanctions on Russia?
To pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Which Russian companies were targeted by the sanctions?
Rosneift oil co. And there was Lukilail.
The post Mark Rutte Donald Trump White House meeting: Trump meets NATO’s Mark Rutte after US tightens pressure on Putin by imposing sanctions on Russia’s top oil companies appeared first on Veritas News.
