Politico: European Leaders Convinced Trump To 'finish' Russia

• 12.09.2025, 20:39

The hardest part remains.

European leaders have finally convinced US President Donald Trump that Russia has no interest in ending the war in Ukraine and must be forced to the negotiating table. Now they will have to agree with the unpredictable White House on exactly how to do that, writes Politico, citing sources among officials and diplomats.

The sources said European politicians and Donald Trump's administration are actively discussing new measures to pressure Russia to force the Kremlin to the negotiating table on Ukraine. The EU is targeting formal sanctions against Russian companies and financial institutions working with Moscow, while Trump prefers to use trade levers like duties on Russian products to deprive the Kremlin of the means to wage war,

Last week saw a slew of meetings between senior EU and US officials. In particular, an EU technical team was sent to Washington to work out the details of new sanctions. According to diplomats, both sides agree that it is necessary to increase pressure on Russia, but they differ on how to do it: Europe wants to impose legally enshrined sanctions, while the US is more focused on economic tools, including trade.

The US president proposed to impose 100% duties on the purchase of Russian oil and gas by countries like India and China, provided that the EU supports similar measures. For Europe, this is impossible: such tariffs themselves contradict the bloc's basic principles, and they could also hit its own economy and strategic trade partners hard.

The EU explains that "tariffs are taxes on our consumers," and imposing them on India and China would mean serious damage to the economy.

EU diplomats consider this proposal to be Trump's "unrealistic demand": the EU cannot physically fulfill it, and if it becomes an obstacle to joint action, further concerted pressure on Russia would be impossible.