Trump downplays prospect of new sanctions on Russia

Donald Trump says he doesn’t want to ‘screw up’ a possible Ukraine deal and will know in two weeks if Putin is committed to peace.

President Trump played down the possibility of new sanctions on Moscow and said he would know in about two weeks if Russian President Vladimir Putin is committed to ending its war in Ukraine.

“If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” Trump said Wednesday of sanctions, which he has raised in recent days as Russia has waged aggressive attacks on Ukraine.

“We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was prepared to meet representatives from Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul for a second round of direct talks, following a prisoner exchange between the two countries.

Trump has expressed frustration with Putin in recent days, saying he was “playing with fire” as peace talks with Ukraine stalled. Trump over the weekend indicated he was considering sanctions against Moscow. People familiar with the matter said new measures could come as early as this week.

“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realise is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump wrote Tuesday on social media.

Mourners leave stuffed animals on the graves during a funeral for the three children from the Martyniuk family. Picture: Getty Images.

The president again distanced himself from the conflict on Wednesday. “This isn’t my war,” he said. “This is [former President Joe] Biden’s war, [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensk y’s war, and Putin’s war. This isn’t Trump’s war.” Trump has been unable to persuade Putin on concessions toward a negotiated peace with Ukraine, and the Russian leader has recently intensified the war, launching its largest-ever drone-and-missile assault on Ukraine earlier this week.

Trump pivoted to talking about Iran and Gaza, when pressed for more on the consequences Putin would face for continuing to attack Ukraine. “We’re not happy about that situation,” he said. “I think we’re doing very well with Iran. We’re doing very well with Gaza.” Trump said the administration was having “very good talks” with Iran over the two-decade dispute regarding the country’s nuclear work. “We’ll find out whether that means anything.” He confirmed that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to take any military action that could jeopardise talks with Iran. “To be honest, yes, I did, ” he said.

The U.S. wants Iran to roll back Iran’s program, which American officials think has put it within a few months of being able to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran says it is open to scaling back the program if the U.S. lifts sanctions over its nuclear work, providing relief for its economy.

“They still have to agree to the final stages of a document, but I think you could be very well surprised what happens there, and it’d be a great thing for them,” he said.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff, who was in the Oval Office with Trump, said he was on the “precipice” of sending a new proposal for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Dow Jones