January 22, 2025 - 12:27 AMT
Trump warns of sanctions if Putin avoids Ukraine talks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he might introduce sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin refuses to engage in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, Trump did not elaborate on the nature of the potential sanctions, though the United States has already imposed significant penalties on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The President also addressed the ongoing debate about providing military aid to Ukraine, asserting that European countries should increase their contributions.

"We're talking to (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy, we're going to be talking with President Putin very soon," Trump stated. "We're going to look at it."

Additionally, Trump revealed that he had urged Chinese President Xi Jinping during a phone conversation to use his influence to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

"He's not done very much on that. He's got a lot of ... power, like we have a lot of power. I said, 'You ought to get it settled.' We did discuss it," Trump said.