US President, Donald Trump, issued a warning Wednesday, September 3, when asked about his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other,” Trump said from the Oval office.
“Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy, and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen,” the president added in what appeared to be a veiled threat.
Trump grew visibly agitated when questioned about the administration’s actions – or lack there of – so far against Russia.
“How do you know there’s no action? Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China, they’re almost equal. Would you say there was no action that cost hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia?” Trump said.
“You call that no action,” he added. “And I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three,” he said, hinting at further punitive steps.
“If you remember two weeks ago, I did, I said, if India buys, India’s got big problems, and that’s what happens. So don’t tell me about that,” Trump added.
Despite repeated threats, the Trump administration has so far been reluctant to slap further sanctions on Russia in its continued efforts to reach a peace deal.