TURNBERRY, Scotland: United States President Donald Trump set a new deadline on Monday (Jul 28) of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict.
Trump has threatened sanctions on both Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made. The fresh deadline suggests the US president is prepared to move forward on those threats after previous hesitation to do so.
Speaking in Scotland, where he was holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month.
“I’m going to make a new deadline of about … 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “There’s no reason in waiting … We just don’t see any progress being made.”
There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
In a post on X, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Putin, said Trump was playing “a game of ultimatums” that could lead to a war involving the US.
Medvedev wrote: “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with (Trump’s) own country.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Trump’s “particularly significant” statement as timely in trying to move forward to a peace settlement.
“Clear stance and expressed determination by @POTUS – right on time, when a lot can change through strength for real peace,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“I thank President Trump for his focus on saving lives and stopping this horrible war,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine, he said later in his nightly video address, favoured tougher sanctions as a “key element” in ending the war.
“Russia pays attention to sanctions, pays attention to such losses,” he said.
