‘If they put sanctions on China …’: Trump asked about UK PM & Russian oil; terms tariffs on India a ‘big step’

Donald Trump has again pushed his tariff strategy against China, saying Europe could end the Ukraine war if it imposed sanctions on Beijing. He asserted that China is “the biggest buyer of Russian oil by far.“In an interview with Fox News, when asked, “Did you tell UK PM Starmer that Europe should put sanctions on India and China too?” Trump highlighted his administration’s tariff measures.He called the United States’ imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on India a “big step” and on China he said, “Well, if they put sanctions on China the Ukraine war would end. China is the biggest buyer of Russian oil by far and I think they have other powers over Russia too.”This development comes amid the tariff showdown between the world’s two largest economies. China hit back strongly at the Trump-led US administration after Washington urged its Nato allies to impose major sanctions on Beijing, ranging from 50 to 100 per cent, alleging China’s role in funding Russia and increasing its lethal capacity in the war in Ukraine.However, a day ago, Trump expressed disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying “he’s let me down.”Trump admitted that he had hoped to broker a breakthrough because of his “good relationship” with Putin but acknowledged the Russian leader had failed to deliver. “The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with (Russia’s) President Putin, but he’s let me down, he’s really let me down. It was going to be Russia and Ukraine, but we’ll see how that turns out,” he said.Trump’s disappointment with Putin followed his repeated efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. As part of those efforts, he invited Putin to Alaska to discuss the issue and days later welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy along with European leaders to the White House. However, the meetings failed to achieve a breakthrough as the war escalated once again.