Donald Trump has issued a fresh ultimatum to Vladimir Putin today in a bid to bring the Ukraine war to a close.
The new US President, in a direct warning to his Russian counterpart, said if a deal couldn't be reached over the "ridiculous" invasion of Ukraine, he would be left with "no choice" but to slap Russia with a series of "taxes, tariffs and sanctions".
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: "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!
LATEST ON DONALD TRUMP AND VLADIMIR PUTIN:
"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!!!"
In response to the President-elect's ultimatum, Russia's deputy envoy to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said it was "not merely a question of ending the war", rather "the question of addressing root causes of the Ukrainian crisis".
In a swipe at Barack Obama, he added: "So we have to see what does the 'deal' mean in President Trump's understanding.
"He is not responsible for what the US has been doing in Ukraine since 2014, making it 'anti-Russia' and preparing for the war with us, but it is in his power now to stop this malicious policy."
In the run-up to his historic return to the White House, Trump had pledged to bring the war to a swift end - in 2023, he told CNN: "If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day... 24 hours."
And on the campaign trail, he had suggested he could bring about peace in the interim period between winning re-election and officially returning to office.
"That is a war that's dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become President.
"If I win, when I'm President-elect, and what I'll do is I'll speak to one, I'll speak to the other, I'll get them together," he vowed in a debate with Kamala Harris.
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The new US President, in a direct warning to his Russian counterpart, said if a deal couldn't be reached over the "ridiculous" invasion of Ukraine, he would be left with "no choice" but to slap Russia with a series of "taxes, tariffs and sanctions".
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: "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!
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"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!!!"
In response to the President-elect's ultimatum, Russia's deputy envoy to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said it was "not merely a question of ending the war", rather "the question of addressing root causes of the Ukrainian crisis".
In a swipe at Barack Obama, he added: "So we have to see what does the 'deal' mean in President Trump's understanding.
"He is not responsible for what the US has been doing in Ukraine since 2014, making it 'anti-Russia' and preparing for the war with us, but it is in his power now to stop this malicious policy."
In the run-up to his historic return to the White House, Trump had pledged to bring the war to a swift end - in 2023, he told CNN: "If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day... 24 hours."
And on the campaign trail, he had suggested he could bring about peace in the interim period between winning re-election and officially returning to office.
"That is a war that's dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become President.
"If I win, when I'm President-elect, and what I'll do is I'll speak to one, I'll speak to the other, I'll get them together," he vowed in a debate with Kamala Harris.
Find Out More...