Good news from Scotland on Monday, as President Trump said he’s now giving Vladimir Putin only another 10-12 days to reach a cease-fire with Ukraine. “We just don’t see any progress being made,” Mr. Trump said as he met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
No one can say Mr. Trump hasn’t been patient with the Russian dictator. His last offer was 50 days to make a deal or face sanctions, but Mr. Putin shows no sign of giving up his war aim of making Ukraine a de facto Russian colony.
Mr. Trump said he thought he had an agreement with the Russia leader more than once. “And then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city,” leaving “bodies lying all over the street,” he said.
The President said that in the absence of progress he’s likely to impose sanctions in the form of tariffs on Russia or “secondary” sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. He has a ready-made vehicle in the Senate bill sponsored by Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal for 500% secondary tariffs that would hit China and India especially hard.
Faced with this threat, Mr. Putin might announce again his desire for peace. But without a cease-fire, his promises are worthless.
