President Trump on Thursday called out European leaders’ double standard on the Ukraine war, questioning why it was up to him to impose harsher measures on Moscow when European nations keep buying Russian oil.
“I’m willing to do other things, but not when the people I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia,” Mr. Trump said. “If the oil price comes down, very simply Russia will settle.”
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a joint press conference as part of his state visit to the U.K., Mr. Trump said he was “disappointed” that some EU countries haven’t weaned themselves off Russian oil. He said European leaders have alternatives, such as buying from the U.S., noting that he’s ramped up drilling in America.
“We’re drilling and we produce more oil than anybody in the world,” Mr. Trump said. “But I was disappointed to see that, and the prime minister was disappointed to see that. And you can’t do that. That’s not playing fair with the United States.”
Mr. Trump made it clear that the U.K. was not one of the European nations purchasing Russian energy, with Mr. Starmer saying his country gets almost no oil from Russia.
“There are a number of European countries which are too reliant on energy from Russia,” Mr. Starmer said. “We need to bear down and work with our European counterparts here. There are one or two countries that need to look again at the question of energy.”
Since 2023, NATO member Turkey has been the third-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China and India, according to the nonprofit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Other members of the 32-state alliance purchasing Russian oil are Hungary and Slovakia.
European nations bought $25.5 billion worth of Russian oil and natural gas last year, helping finance Russia’s war even as European leaders condemn President Vladimir Putin and impose sanctions.
In fact, European leaders collectively spent more money on importing Russian oil last year than they did on financial aid for Ukraine, which totals $21.7 billion, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air found.
While the EU appears eager to coordinate with Mr. Trump for a new round of sanctions on Russia, his demand to stop Russian oil imports has stalled plans to slap Moscow with new penalties.
The president again acknowledged the war between Ukraine and Russia is harder to resolve than he thought, saying Mr. Putin disappoints him. He offered a dour assessment about the prospect of ending the war, which has raged since February 2022.
“It’s my biggest disappointment,” Mr. Trump said.
After ticking off seven global conflicts that he said he ended, Mr. Trump repeated what he has said for weeks: The Ukraine war is the toughest to end. He said he’s “very disappointed” that peace hasn’t come.
“The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin. He’s let me down. He’s really let me down,” Mr. Trump said. “I thought it might be among the easiest of the group.”
Mr. Trump compared the war in Ukraine to the conflicts between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as the battle between India and Pakistan, saying, in theory, they should have been harder to end.
The president in recent months has escalated his efforts to end the war, hosting Mr. Putin in Alaska for a summit and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House. Mr. Trump also doubled tariffs on India, which is one of the largest buyers of Russian oil that funds Mr. Putin’s war machine.
Still, those moves appear to have done little to advance peace talks.
“Russia and Ukraine will get it done, but you never know in war,” Mr. Trump said Thursday. “War is a different thing. Things happen that are very opposite of what you thought. You thought you were going to have an easy time or hard time, and it turns out to be the reverse.”
Mr. Starmer said Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine underscore that Mr. Putin isn’t interested in reaching a peace deal. Moscow has ramped up bombing Ukraine, and Poland, a NATO ally, shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace.
“In recent days, Putin has shown his true face — mounting the biggest attack since the invasion began, with yet more bloodshed, yet more innocents killed and unprecedented violations of NATO airspace,” Mr. Starmer said.
“These are not the actions of someone who wants peace,” he added.
Mr. Starmer said America’s actions have put pressure on Moscow and could lead to a peace deal.
