Washington, September 14, 2025 — The Europe Today: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington is prepared to impose new energy sanctions on Russia, but only if all NATO member states agree to halt purchases of Russian oil and adopt similar measures.
“I am ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia,” Trump stated in a social media post.
The remarks come as the United States intensifies pressure on NATO allies to tighten energy sanctions in an effort to constrain Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine. Despite repeated warnings, Trump has faced criticism for issuing successive deadlines for Russia to de-escalate without following through on stronger punitive actions. An August Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 54 percent of Americans — including one in five Republicans — believe the president is too closely aligned with Russia.
The European Union responded cautiously to Trump’s statement. “The EU has engaged – and will continue to engage – with all relevant global partners in the context of its sanctions against Russia, and enforcement of same,” a European Commission spokesperson said on Saturday. In her State of the Union address earlier this week, EU President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that any new sanctions package must comply with EU principles, including the prohibition on extraterritorial measures.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers also held discussions on Friday about possible new sanctions and tariffs targeting countries viewed as enabling Russia’s war effort. Energy revenues remain the Kremlin’s primary source of funding for the conflict, making oil and gas exports a central focus of Western restrictions. Analysts, however, warn that deeper curbs on Russian crude risk triggering higher global oil prices, potentially straining Western economies and eroding public backing for the measures.
NATO member Turkey has emerged as the alliance’s third-largest buyer of Russian oil since 2023, following China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Hungary and Slovakia, both NATO members, are also among the purchasers.
Trump, who spent the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, further argued that NATO should jointly impose tariffs of 50 to 100 percent on Chinese imports, a move he said would weaken Beijing’s economic support for Moscow. His administration has already raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent in a bid to pressure New Delhi to reduce purchases of discounted Russian crude — a decision that has strained trade talks between Washington and New Delhi.
