Donald Trump, in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday at the White House, warned that if Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy do not respond and stop the war in Ukraine, he is prepared to initiate what he calls "an economic war."

"It will not be a world war, but it will be an economic war, and an economic war will be very bad. It will be very bad for Russia, and I don't want that to happen," he said.

Trump had previously promised to end the war on his first day in office. But even after taking over again, his efforts have yet to yield any progress.

The meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy has not yet been scheduled after the conference.

Trump believes that his meeting with Putin in Anchorage on August 15 will pave the way for conversations between Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

That meeting, the first direct exchange between the two sides since the war began more than three years ago, led the White House to believe that Putin had agreed to meet with Zelenskiy. Officials even said that planning had begun. But more than a week later, no date has been confirmed.

The Kremlin has never publicly accepted the terms, and no summit has been announced. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking to NBC on Friday, said that Putin is only willing to meet Zelenskiy when an official work program is completed.

"This work program is not ready," Lavrov said, opposing the idea that conversations are imminent. Trump directly responded to those comments at the press conference on Tuesday, saying: "Everyone is posturing," and both leaders are hesitating instead of moving forward.

On August 18, Trump had a follow-up call with Putin to propose an official peace meeting, right after he met with Zelenskiy and a group of European leaders at the White House. The previous meeting focused on establishing long-term security commitments to prevent future Russian aggression.

Zelenskiy, for his part, publicly stated on August 23 that commitments were nearly completed. "In the coming days," he said, he expects to fully announce the terms, with the support of the U.S. and Europe.

Trump doubled the tariffs as a warning to countries buying Russian crude oil.

Trump did not limit warnings to Russia. He imposed economic sanctions by doubling tariffs to 50% on imports from India, targeting India's continued purchase of Russian oil.

He also pressured other countries that are still buying oil from Russia, saying they are helping to fund the war. So far, he has not taken additional measures against China or other countries, but those warnings remain.

Despite maintaining contact with Moscow, Trump has grown frustrated that Russian attacks in Ukraine have continued rapidly after calls with Putin. "Zelenskiy is not innocent either," he said at the meeting on Tuesday.

Trump reminded reporters that he had previously criticized the Ukrainian president for not expressing enough gratitude for U.S. support. He once again described Zelenskiy as part of the problem, not just a victim of Russian aggression.

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