President Donald Trump fired off at NATO countries Saturday morning in a fiery social media post, demanding that American allies would have to do “as I say” to bring about the end to the Russo-Ukraine War.
“This is not TRUMP’S WAR (it would never have started if I was President!), it is Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s WAR,” Trump wrote Saturday in an online post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“I am only here to help stop it, and save thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives (7,118 lives lost last week, alone. CRAZY!). If NATO does as I say, the WAR will end quickly, and all of those lives will be saved! If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States.”
Ending the Russo-Ukraine War was among Trump’s key campaign promises in the runup to the 2024 presidential election, having vowed to negotiate an end to the war “within 24 hours” of taking office, a pledge he made no less than 53 times. That pledge has yet to come to fruition, however, with Trump officials now shifting blame onto European leaders.
In his social media post, which he described as an open letter “to all NATO nations and the world,” Trump urged NATO nations to halt their purchase of Russian oil, and said as soon as they do, he was “ready to do major sanctions on Russia.”
“As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian oil, by some, has been shocking!” Trump wrote. “It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia. Anyway, I am ready to “go” when you are. Just say when?”
Despite Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, followed shortly thereafter with his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, peace talks between the two nations have stalled, with Trump officials privately conceding their efforts to negotiate an end to the war had largely failed.