White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated on Thursday that Russia must reach either a ceasefire or a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days if it wants to avoid facing "steep" tariffs and secondary sanctions, which would target countries buying oil from it.
Leavitt acknowledged that the trade between the United States and Russia amounted to only $3 billion last year but noted that it is "still a lot of money," and tariffs on such trade could motivate Russia to accept a ceasefire.
The White House press secretary noted Trump has put "many hours" into resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stressed he still hopes to find a diplomatic solution.
