US President Donald Trump is unlikely to impose sanctions on Russia because some European countries will not meet his main demands, writes The New York Times.
The publication recalled that Trump had previously put forward conditions for imposing new sanctions against Russia. He said he would do so only if all NATO member states did the same. He also demanded that all members of the Alliance stop purchasing Russian oil and impose high tariffs on China.
The European Commission has promised to work on this issue with its partners around the world. Moreover, Trump, in a phone call with European leaders, urged them to reduce purchases of Russian oil as soon as possible.
The publication believes that this condition will almost certainly not be met, as the US president and his advisers know. The largest European buyers of Russian oil are Hungary and Turkey, and they are unlikely to stop purchasing.
However, many other European countries have significantly reduced their imports of Russian oil. Some of them still rely on Russian natural gas, which Trump did not mention, the publication added.
Journalists recalled that the US president has repeatedly threatened to take action against Russia, but each time he has found a new way to avoid it. For example, the summit in Alaska with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin promised to prepare the ground for a bilateral meeting between the Kremlin leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is obvious that such a meeting will not take place in the near future.
