Trump warns Russia of 'severe tariffs' if there is no deal on Ukraine in 50 days

US President Donald Trump on Monday (July 14) warned Russia that America will impose severe tariffs on it if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

AP said the Republican president made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

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“We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days," Trump said. He did not provide specifics on how the tariffs would be implemented.

“I use trade for a lot of things," he added. "But it's great for settling wars,” Trump said.

Stance on Russia-Ukraine war

During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly said that, if elected to a second term, he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours.”

But since his January 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics between the US leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump's rhetoric toward both Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved during his second term in the White House.

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Trump initially was conciliatory toward Putin, for whom Trump has long shown admiration. But in recent days the Republican leader has expressed increasing exasperation with Putin, criticising the Russian leader for his unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts and for prolonging the war.

Until recently, Trump had repeatedly said Russia seemed more willing than Ukraine to get a deal done.

Trump appears to have softened toward Zelenskyy after a February blowout in the Oval Office. And, in a reversal, has promised to send badly needed Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine amid Russia's stepped up aerial attacks.