NATO member Turkey is one of the largest buyers of Russian oil, after China and India.
WASHINGTON — On Saturday, President Donald Trump expressed his belief that halting the purchase of Russian oil by all NATO countries and imposing tariffs ranging from 50% to 100% on China’s acquisition of Russian oil could lead to the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In a message on his social media platform, Trump criticized NATO’s commitment to securing victory in the war as being “less than 100%,” and called the continued purchase of Russian oil by some alliance members “shocking.” Addressing NATO allies, he stated, “This practice severely undermines your negotiating strength and bargaining power against Russia.”
Since 2023, Turkey, a NATO member, ranks as the third largest purchaser of Russian oil, following China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Other NATO members such as Hungary and Slovakia are also involved in buying oil from Russia.
Trump’s statement comes on the heels of multiple Russian drones entering Polish airspace, a move seen as provocative since Poland is a NATO ally. Though Poland intercepted and downed the drones, Trump minimized the seriousness of the event and Russia’s intentions, suggesting it “might have been accidental.”
While Trump, during his campaign, pledged to swiftly end the conflict, he has so far been unable to apply the necessary pressure to halt the hostilities, occasionally appearing hesitant to directly challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Congress is pushing the U.S. president to support legislation that would increase sanctions, especially after Trump’s recent meeting with Putin in Alaska ended with little advancement toward peace.
Trump in his post said that a NATO ban on Russian oil plus tariffs on China would “also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.”
Trump suggested that NATO allies should impose the steep tariffs on China and remove them only if the conflict, initiated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concludes.
“China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia,” he posted, and powerful tariffs “will break that grip.”
The U.S. president has already placed a 25% import tax on goods from India for its buying of Russian energy products.
In his post, Trump said responsibility for the war fell on his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not include in that list Putin, who launched the invasion.
Trump’s post builds on a call Friday with finance ministers in the Group of Seven, a forum of industrialized democracies. During the call, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on their counterparts to have a “unified front” to cut off “the revenues funding Putin’s war machine,” according to Greer’s office.
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