Washington (BN24) – President Donald Trump on Saturday called on NATO members to immediately halt all purchases of Russian oil and warned he would impose tariffs of 50% to 100% on China if it continues buying petroleum from Moscow, saying such steps would end the war in Ukraine.
Posting on his social media platform, Trump criticized NATO’s commitment to the conflict, calling it “far less than 100%.” He described the alliance’s ongoing purchase of Russian oil as “shocking” and said it undermined the bloc’s bargaining power with Moscow. “It greatly weakens your negotiating position and bargaining power over Russia,” Trump wrote, framing his comments as if addressing NATO leaders directly.
Turkey, a NATO member, ranks as the third-largest buyer of Russian oil after China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Hungary and Slovakia, also members of the 32-nation alliance, have continued their purchases as well. It remains unclear whether Trump intends to press Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to stop the imports.
The president’s remarks came days after Polish forces shot down multiple Russian drones that entered the country’s airspace, in what NATO officials described as a dangerous escalation. Trump played down the significance of the incursion, saying it “could have been a mistake,” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it “unacceptable and unfortunate and dangerous.” Rubio said NATO’s measured response was appropriate but added that determining whether Russia intentionally targeted Poland would be critical.
Trump, who has long promised to end the war swiftly, has so far avoided directly confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last month, he hosted Putin in Alaska for talks that failed to make progress on peace. Meanwhile, Congress is pressing the president to support a sanctions bill designed to increase pressure on Moscow.
At the United Nations, acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea pledged Friday that the United States “will defend every inch of NATO territory,” calling the drone incident in Poland an affront to international efforts to end the war. Britain followed with new sanctions banning 70 vessels accused of transporting Russian oil and blacklisting 30 individuals and companies, including several in China and Turkey, for supplying Russia with weapons components.
Trump said Saturday that a NATO-wide ban on Russian oil, paired with steep tariffs on China, would “be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.” He argued that Beijing holds significant leverage over Moscow, and that tariffs “will break that grip.”
The president has already levied a 25% import tax on Indian goods tied to Russian energy purchases, and a broader 50% tariff on imports from India remains in place. He has signaled a willingness to negotiate with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but has shown less flexibility with China.
Earlier this year, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, prompting Beijing to retaliate with a 125% tax on U.S. imports. The measures temporarily froze commerce between the world’s two largest economies and rattled global markets. Subsequent negotiations reduced U.S. tariffs to 30% and Chinese duties to 10%, but the threat of new increases remains.
In his latest post, Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the ongoing war, omitting any direct criticism of Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump’s statement followed a call with Group of Seven finance ministers in which U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged allied nations to adopt a “unified front” to cut off funding for what they called “Putin’s war machine.”
