Europe disappointed by Trump's big statement on Russia

European politicians expected more significant measures from Washington against Russia, and they are disappointed with the results of Donald Trump's recent statement, writes the German magazine Spiegel.

On July 14, Trump announced new measures against Russia at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington. According to him, the United States will introduce tough restrictions — 100% tariffs — against Russia in 50 days if there is no progress in the Ukrainian settlement. According to the Republican, the United States may supply 17 Patriot systems to Europe for Kiev.

Trump's "big" statement turned out to be "smaller than many had hoped", particularly in Washington and several European capitals, Spiegel reports. This is due to Trump's own statements about Russia. He has repeatedly said that he is "unhappy" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trump had a legal "sledgehammer" to "hit Russia hard" and its trading partners, but he didn't use it, Spiegel writes.

The bill, which was drafted by one of Trump's key allies, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, along with Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, not only calls for sanctions against Russia, but also for tariffs of 500% on imports from countries that buy Russianoil , oil products, natural gas, uranium and other goods.

Spiegel suggested that Russia also expected the worst-case scenario, but when Trump's speech ended, prices on the Moscow Exchange rose by several percent. Moscow managed to buy time, the article says.

Last week, Trump commented on future actions towards Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and announced plans to "arrange a little surprise." He did not provide details then, but noted that he was unhappy with the actions of the Russian president. The Republican also said on Friday, July 11, that "something is going to happen" in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia considers any restrictions imposed by Western countries to be illegal and insists on their abolition. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized, including during a recent conversation with Trump, that Russia continues to seek ways to resolve the conflict and is ready to continue negotiations with Ukraine. At the same time, he emphasized, Russia does not intend to abandon its goals.

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