Trump is open to sanctions against Putin and will meet with European leaders to discuss Ukraine.

BrusselsDonald Trump continues his shift toward a more anti-Putin stance. The White House's repeated failed attempts to end the war in Ukraine appear to be gradually changing the US president's opinion of the Russian leader, and the largest attack since the start of the invasion, which The Kremlin launched this SundayHe's reached the end of his patience. So much so that the New York tycoon responded this Sunday with a terse "yes" when reporters asked him if he would be willing to approve new sanctions against Russia, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested.

The US president also announced that he would meet with European leaders in Washington on Monday or Tuesday, although he did not clarify exactly which ones. "Certain European leaders will be coming to our country on Monday or Tuesday individually," Trump told reporters, adding that he is "not happy" with the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, he also said he would soon speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and reiterated his conviction that he will find a way out of the conflict. "We will resolve the situation between Russia and Ukraine," he promised.

In turn, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill avoided confirming the visit to Washington at a press conference on Monday, and assured that the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is "fully focused" on the State of the Union address she will give this Wednesday in the European Parliament. He also assured that he is not aware of any other head of government or state of the European Union being on the way to Washington or planning to travel between this Monday and Tuesday.

Now, the spokesperson for the community executive has announced that the European Union's special envoy on sanctions against Russia, David O'Sullivan, is already in the US capital to discuss with the Trump administration the implementation of new sanctions against Russia. The administration of former US President Joe Biden already approved sanctions against Moscow, but this time would be the first in which Trump would directly impose restrictions on Putin's regime.

The New York tycoon already threatened the Kremlin last March with imposing new sanctions on its economy, especially on gas and oil, but so far he has only applied secondary sanctions. That is, indirect ones, such as tariffs on India as punishment for buying hydrocarbons from Russia. In fact, Trump even refused to apply the sanctions against Russia agreed upon by the G-7, such as establishing a cap on oil from Moscow.

As for the European Union, on the other hand, the new package of sanctions would be the 19th since the war began. According to several international media outlets, such as Reuters or Political, the European Commission plans to present a proposal to member states this week that will expand the blacklist of Chinese companies, tighten restrictions on Russian banks and the so-called ghost fleet of Russian ships, and ban the sale of Russian oil.

Trump's Counterparts

The US president's apparent willingness to work together with the European Union comes with a quid pro quo. In an interview with the daily Financial TimesUS Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, who is meeting with EU officials on Monday, has stated that it would "absolutely" help relations with the EU if the European bloc stopped purchasing fossil fuels from Russia for the benefit of the US. "We believe it would be economically positive for the EU," says Wright, who maintains that his country would "guarantee energy supplies" to the EU.

In turn, the Kremlin has warned Washington and Brussels that new restrictions would not pressure them to stop the invasion of Ukraine. "No type of sanctions can force Russia to change its position, which our president has repeatedly made clear," assured Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.