The Kremlin has responded to US President Donald Trump’s recent threats to impose new sanctions on Russia unless it ends its war against Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia is "very closely monitoring all the rhetoric" coming from Washington.
"We don't see any new elements here," Peskov remarked speaking to reporters.
He noted that during Trump’s first presidency, sanctions were a preferred tool of his administration.
"You know that in his first iteration of the presidency, Trump was the president of America who most often resorted to sanctions methods. He likes these methods. At least he liked them during his first presidency," Peskov said, as reported by Interfax.
The remarks came in response to Trump’s call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war. Trump, who returned to office on Monday, took to Truth Social on Wednesday, warning of "high levels" of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on Russian goods if a settlement is not reached.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump wrote, according to CNBC.
He also emphasized urgency, stating, “Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way — and the easy way is always better. It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL.’ NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”
Throughout his campaign, Trump has promised to end the nearly three-year-old conflict within 24 hours of taking office, though he has not provided specific details on how he plans to accomplish this. He has criticized the Biden administration’s significant financial and military aid to Ukraine, questioning its alignment with US interests. Trump has also floated the idea of reducing American support for Ukraine, a stance that could mark a sharp shift in US foreign policy.
On the other side, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled a willingness to engage in talks with Trump’s administration regarding the conflict. However, Putin has emphasized that peace negotiations must yield a lasting solution rather than a temporary truce. Russia’s territorial claims remain a significant sticking point in any potential settlement.
Russia remains unwavering in its territorial claims, particularly in Crimea and the Donbas region. Russia controls Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and has since taken approximately 80 percent of the Donbas region – comprising Donetsk and Luhansk – as well as more than 70 percent of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, along with smaller parts of the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions.