US President Donald Trump called on European nations to immediately cease purchasing Russian energy resources during his address to the UN General Assembly, arguing that continued imports amount to funding Moscow's war effort.
Trump referenced the Russia-Ukraine conflict midway through his speech, reiterating his claim that the war "would not have started if he had been president." He identified cutting off Russia's energy revenues as crucial for achieving peace and demanded full European cooperation on this issue.
"China and India are the main 'financiers' of this ongoing war – because they continue to buy Russian oil. But what cannot be justified – even some NATO countries still have not abandoned Russian energy resources," Trump said. "I learned about this two weeks ago, and I didn't like it. Think about it. They are financing a war against themselves."
The president warned that if Russia fails to demonstrate readiness to negotiate an end to the war, the United States is prepared to implement "very strong, powerful tariffs that will stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly."
However, Trump emphasized that European nations must join these efforts. "But for those tariffs to be effective, European states... must join us in adopting identical measures," he said.
Trump highlighted the geographical reality facing European nations, noting they are "much closer to the threat, unlike America, which is on another continent."
"They cannot do what they are doing. They buy oil and gas from Russia while fighting Russia... They must immediately stop any purchase of energy resources from Russia. Otherwise, we will lose a lot of time," Trump said.
The American president announced plans to discuss this issue with European leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The statement comes as Hungary's Foreign Minister recently reaffirmed that his country will not abandon Russian energy supplies despite Trump's demands.
