United States President Donald Trump suggested that he would impose additional sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not accept peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, while in a phone call he called on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end the conflict, Radio Free Europe's English-language editorial office writes.
"It seems so," Trump told reporters at the White House on January 21 when asked if Washington would impose new sanctions on Russia if Putin did not come to the negotiating table.
Trump did not offer details on potential new measures - which would build on a wide range of sanctions already targeting Russia for its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump also reiterated his intention to speak with Putin soon, without specifying a timeframe.
"We are talking to (Ukrainian leader Volodymyr) Zelensky. We will talk to President Putin soon. We will consider it."
On January 20, the US president said that Zelensky had told him that he wanted a peace agreement to end the war.
Citing a close ally of Putin - Chinese leader Xi - Trump said he had urged him in a phone call to help end the brutal conflict.
"He hasn't done much about it. He has a lot of...power, just like we have a lot of power. I told him, 'You should fix it.' We talked about it," Trump said.
Trump also said his team was considering sending additional weapons to Ukraine. During his presidential campaign, Trump sharply criticized the level of aid provided by the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
However, Trump has sometimes said he is open to the idea of a lend-lease program, under which Ukraine would repay the US over time for arms deliveries.
In his latest statements, he also reiterated his position that other allies should increase their spending on Ukraine's defense, calling on the European Union to "match" aid spending to match the level of American aid.
The statements come on the second day of Trump's new term in the White House and the second consecutive day in which he has pressured Putin - whom he has often praised - to move forward with peace talks.
During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office. In recent weeks, he has walked back those comments, but has continued to promise to end the war quickly.
Many analysts say it will be difficult to end the war in the near future because Putin believes he is winning and has no incentive to stop the fighting, even though Russia is suffering devastating losses in manpower and equipment.
The night before – Trump's first night after resuming the presidency at noon on January 20 – the president said Putin was "destroying" Russia by refusing to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
"There should be a deal. I think he's destroying Russia by not making a deal," Trump told reporters.
"I think Russia is going to be in big trouble."
"Most people thought the war would be over in a week," Trump said in what appeared to be his most critical public comments about Putin's war.
"I think it would be very beneficial for him to end that war."
Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Moscow was "taking into account" Trump's comments, but declined to provide details, saying the Kremlin was waiting for "concrete proposals that could serve as a basis for contacts."
Putin spoke with ally Xi via video call on January 21. The two emphasized their close ties and discussed potential contacts with Trump's team.
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Russian media quoted Putin as telling Xi that "joint efforts between Russia and China play an important stabilizing role in global affairs."
Russia and Ukraine have suffered heavy losses on the battlefield since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Before that, in 2014, Russia invaded and illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and launched support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, occupying and eventually seizing large parts of eastern Ukraine.
Sanctions already imposed by the US and the European Union have devastated the Russian economy.
In addition, Russia spent hundreds of billions of dollars on the war, suffered an estimated 700.000 casualties, and frightened its neighbors, while also sacrificing the lucrative European gas market and access to Western financial markets as the ruble lost value.
The Kremlin spends about 40 percent of its budget on the military and is battling inflation even with interest rates above 20 percent. In return, it has seized territory in Ukraine that is in ruins.
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