Putin Not Backing Down To Trump Despite Sanctions, Tariff Threats

Russian President Vladimir Putin is standing defiant against President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and sanctions if no ceasefire in Ukraine comes to fruition, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The Kremlin insisted that Russia would not cave to sanctions and tariff pressure from the U.S., despite Trump’s Tuesday announcement that he is significantly accelerating the deadline for reaching a ceasefire deal in Ukraine, according to Reuters. Putin, much to the administration’s growing frustration, has remained stubborn in refusing to meaningfully advance peace negotiations since Trump assumed office in January.

“We have been living under a huge number of sanctions for quite a long time, our economy operates under a huge number of restrictions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. “Therefore, of course, we have already developed a certain immunity in this regard, and we continue to note all statements that come from President Trump, from other international representatives on this matter.”

Trump initially gave Putin a 50 day deadline to come to the table on July 14, but reduced the timeline to only 10 or 12 days on Tuesday. Former President Joe Biden also imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil industry, for example, but ultimately failed to fully cripple the nation’s economy.

“There’s no reason they’re waiting… it’s 50 days, I want to be generous, [but] we just don’t see any progress being made,” Trump told reporters Tuesday regarding the move.

In addition to Trump’s threats of secondary tariffs and sanctions on nations that trade goods with Russia, Congress is also pursuing a bipartisan bill that would allow Trump to levy 500% tariffs against countries that import Russian uranium, gas and oil.

In light of Putin’s stalling, Trump resumed shipping weapons to Ukraine on July 11 via NATO as a way to push the Kremlin to make peace. Russia has demanded that any deal would have to include recognition of conquered territory in Ukraine, while Kiev has denied all demands to cede any territory to Moscow.

The State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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