Trump threatens Russia with “hollow” sanctions, his former advisor Bolton says
Pravda Ukraine
John Bolton, former National Security Advisor to Donald Trump, believes that the US president’s threats of sanctions against Russia are empty and says that Trump is supposedly trying to demonstrate a balance with regard to Ukraine and Russia.
Source: Bolton on air on CNN, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Bolton said that both Trump himself and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin are well aware that the US president’s threats to impose sanctions and tariffs against Russia are “totally hollow”.
Quote from Bolton: “He [Trump] did it simply to try and show some kind of balance, given the things he said about Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians.”
Details: Analysing Trump’s threats, Bolton noted that Russian imports to the US in 2024 totalled just under US$3 billion, which is insignificant compared to the volume of US trade with the rest of the world.
He emphasised that during the full-scale invasion, the volume of Russian imports to the United States has fallen by 90%. He added that tariffs therefore do not make any sense.
Regarding potential new sanctions, Bolton noted that Russia has successfully learnt to circumvent restrictions, especially financial ones.
“I think Putin completely understood that that threat was totally hollow,” he concluded.
Background:
- On 7 March, Trump announced that he was considering imposing wide-ranging sanctions and tariffs on Russia over its ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- Meanwhile, Trump also said that it was easier for him to deal with Russia than with Ukraine in terms of resolving the war.
- In addition, he explained why he had stopped delivering military aid to Ukraine.
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