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

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

Trump once promised to end the war on his first day in office. But even after regaining power, his efforts have yet to yield any progress.

The meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy has yet to be scheduled after the Summit

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

That meeting, the first direct exchange between the two sides since the war broke out over three years ago, led the White House to believe that Putin had agreed to meet Zelenskiy. Officials even claimed that plans had been initiated. But more than a week later, no specific date had been confirmed.

The Kremlin has never publicly accepted these conditions, nor has there been any announcement regarding the conference. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking on NBC on Friday, stated that Putin would only be willing to meet Zelenskiy when an appropriate agenda was finalized.

"This agenda is completely unprepared," Lavrov said, denying claims that negotiations were imminent. Trump directly responded to those comments at a press conference on Tuesday, saying, "Everyone is just pretending," and both leaders are hesitating instead of moving forward.

On August 18, Trump had a follow-up phone 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.

For his part, Zelenskiy publicly stated on August 23 that commitments were nearly complete. "In the coming days," he said, he expects to announce full terms, with the support of the United States and Europe.

Trump Increases Tariffs to Warn Countries Buying Russian Crude Oil

Trump not only warned 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 still buying crude oil from Russia, saying they are helping to fund the war. So far, he has not taken any further action against China or other countries, but those warnings remain in effect.

Although still maintaining contact with Moscow, Trump expressed disappointment when Russia's attacks on Ukraine quickly resumed after phone calls with Putin. "Zelenskiy is not completely innocent either," he said in a meeting on Tuesday.

Trump reiterated to reporters that he had previously criticized the Ukrainian president for not showing 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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