Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Tuesday rejected President Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on Russia and its trading partners if the war in Ukraine doesn’t come to an end within 50 days.
“Certainly, above all, we note that any attempts to put forth demands or, moreover, ultimatums, are unacceptable to us,” Ryabkov said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Trump made the threat on Monday when announcing a new plan to pour US weapons into Ukraine by first selling them to NATO countries. Ryabkov said that Russia prefers diplomacy but that if it cannot reach its goals through negotiations, “then the special military operation will go on.”
Russia’s main demands to end the war include Ukrainian neutrality and the recognition of the four oblasts Moscow annexed in 2022 as Russian territory, which would require a Ukrainian withdrawal from the territory it still controls in those areas. Ryabkov said that Moscow’s stance is “unshakable” and that the US and NATO need to “treat it with the utmost seriousness.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also commented on Trump’s threat, saying Moscow needs clarification. “Certainly, we would like to understand what is behind this statement about 50 days. Earlier, there were also the deadlines of 24 hours and of 100 days, we have seen it all and really would like to understand the motivation of the US president,” he said.
While on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly pledged that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, but now he appears ready to continue fueling the conflict indefinitely. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to give up territory and is unlikely to make concessions as long as the US and NATO continue to support his war effort.
As the war grinds on, Russian forces continue to make gains in eastern Ukraine, meaning that Ukraine could lose more territory than what Moscow is currently asking for in a future settlement.
During peace talks in March and April of 2022, Russia’s main demand was for Ukrainian neutrality. Those efforts were discouraged by the US, and later that year, Russia declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts and added the recognition of that territory as Russia to its demands to end the war.
