"I'm not looking to hurt Russia": Trump calls to stop war; threatens tariffs, sanctions

Washington DC [US] January 22 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has called for an immediate resolution to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and warned of potential economic consequences for Russia, including "taxes, tariffs, and sanctions."
Trump also emphasised his long standing admiration for the Russian people and his past positive relationship with President Vladimir Putin.
Sharing a post on social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I'm not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin - and this despite the Radical Left's Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I'm going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big favour."
"Settle now, and stop this ridiculous war! It's only going to get worse. If we don't make a "deal," and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let's get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It's time to 'make a deal.' No more lives should be lost," the post added.
Earlier, President Putin had expressed willingness to hold communication with the incoming US administration about the Ukraine conflict and called elimination of the root cause of the crisis as the "most important thing," TASS reported.
He made the remarks during the meeting of Russia's Security Council. "We are also open to dialogue with the new US administration about the Ukrainian conflict. The most important thing there is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which we have talked about many times. This is the most essential thing," TASS quoted Putin as saying.
Notably, Trump had pledged to bring an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine which has been ongoing since February 2022, halt the chaos in the Middle East, and take measures to prevent the outbreak of World War 3. (ANI)