Trump demands NATO stop buying Russian oil – Rezazade 

US President Donald Trump said he is ready to impose a new large-scale package of sanctions against Russia only after all NATO countries stop buying Russian oil. He made the corresponding statement in his post on social networks on Saturday.

“I am ready to impose serious sanctions on Russia when all NATO countries agree and start doing the same, and when they all stop buying oil from Russia,” Trump wrote, calling on allies to put joint economic pressure on the Kremlin.

At the same time, he suggested that the Alliance introduce “significant tariffs” on China — from 50% to 100%, arguing that Beijing has “strong control over Moscow” and that such a step could break its influence.

However, Trump’s proposal will encounter resistance within NATO. Turkey, which is a major buyer of Russian energy, maintains close ties with the Kremlin. Hungary and Slovakia, whose governments are led by Trump allies, also rely on Russian oil supplies and are in no hurry to abandon them.

Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis criticized Trump’s position, saying that it looks like “an attempt to avoid decisive action against Russia.” He noted that the US president could put direct pressure on the leaders of Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey instead of blocking his own sanctions.

According to international expert Ali Reza Rezazadeh, the first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, Trump’s rhetoric is an attempt to shift responsibility for putting pressure on the Kremlin to European allies, while at the same time maintaining room for maneuver in relations with Moscow.

“In fact, Trump is setting a condition that is unlikely to be fulfilled in the near future, since the energy dependence of some NATO countries on Russian resources remains. This allows him to appear tough in rhetoric, but avoid real sanctions that could hit the Kremlin today,” Rezazade explained.

According to the expert, the requirement to impose high tariffs against China demonstrates Trump’s desire to intensify global confrontation, but in the EU such a scenario raises doubts due to its traditional commitment to free trade.

“Europe may support a tougher course towards Moscow, but the introduction of large-scale tariffs against China is a completely different level of economic warfare that can split the Alliance itself,” Rezazade emphasized.

Thus, according to the expert, the new statement of the US president looks more like a political maneuver than a real plan for a quick end to the war in Ukraine.