On Monday, President Trump strongly condemned the “Russian war machine” responsible for the tragic loss of innocent Ukrainian lives, marking a significant uptick in his critical rhetoric just as special envoy Steve Witkoff was prepared to head to Moscow for crucial discussions this week.
Trum’s criticism extended to the Kremlin as he increased US tariffs on Indian imports because of India’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil amid Moscow’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine.
“India is not only buying massive quantities of Russian oil, but they are also selling a considerable portion of it on the open market for significant profits,” the president commented in a post on Truth Social.
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine.” he raged.
“Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!! President DJT.”
The term “war machine” coincides with Trump’s recent adoption of a much firmer stance against the Kremlin, particularly concerning President Vladimir Putin’s unwillingness to engage in negotiations to resolve what has become Europe’s most deadly conflict since World War II.
Despite speaking admiringly of Putin in the past, Trump has voiced increasing frustration with the Russian dictator.
Trump’s latest jab comes as the Aug. 8 deadline he gave for Russia to agree to end its war with Ukraine inches closer.
He has threatened to enforce new sanctions or tariffs on Russia and its oil customers, such as India and China, unless the Kremlin demonstrates genuine efforts towards reaching a peace agreement.
Witkoff, meanwhile, is expected to travel to Russia on Wednesday to take yet another crack at persuading the Kremlin to begin peace talks.
The special envoy has conducted several dialogues with Putin during past trips but has yet to succeed in getting an agreement to conclude a war that has persisted for more than three years.
“We are always happy to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow and we are always happy to have contacts with Mr Witkoff. We consider them important, meaningful and very useful,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the looming meeting.
Putin said last week that talks had made some positive progress but that Russia had the momentum in the war.
Still, Moscow was said to be “unfazed” by Trump’s ramped-up press, Russian state media reported.
“In foreign policy, and particularly in diplomacy, it is always better to be less emotional and more measured. So, all the emotions now dominating the media space, with all these statements and references to big names, Trump, should be taken calmly,” Russia’s Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Grigory Karasin, told the Tass news agency.
“There will be contacts with him [Witkoff] that will reveal what the United States actually thinks, not for the public eye, about the absolutely destructive role currently played by the European Union countries, which tightly control the Zelensky regime,” he added.
“All of that will be discussed. I believe that following these contacts, we will at least know everything of substance. Therefore, we must remain patient, composed, and resist emotional responses.”
