Keir Starmer‘s push for fresh Russia sanctions have hit a Trump roadblock after the US president complained they ‘cost us a lot of money’.
The PM has been talking up the prospect of ‘squeezing’ Vladimir Putin at the G7 summit in Canada this week.
But Mr Trump has struck a starkly different tone, suggesting during the gathering that the dictator should not have been ejected from the powerful group of nations.
Speaking alongside Sir Keir overnight, Mr Trump was asked about ramping up sanctions and replied: ‘Well Europe is saying that, but they haven’t done it yet.
‘Let’s see them do it first.’
Mr Trump added: ‘I’m waiting to see whether or not a deal is done… and don’t forget, you know, sanctions cost us a lot of money.
‘When I sanction a country that costs the US a lot of money, a tremendous amount of money.
‘It’s not just, let’s sign a document. You’re talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that easy. It’s not just a one-way street.’
Following the photo op with Sir Keir, to unveil details of the US-UK trade deal, Mr Trump opted to leave the summit early and return to Washington amid the crisis between Israel and Iran.
Keir Starmer (second from right) has been talking up the prospect of ‘squeezing’ Vladimir Putin at the G7 summit in Canada this week
Speaking alongside Sir Keir overnight, Mr Trump was asked about ramping up sanctions and replied: ‘Well Europe is saying that, but they haven’t done it yet. Let’s see them do it first.’
Mr Trump has struck a starkly different tone from Sir Keir, suggesting during the gathering that Putin should not have been ejected from the powerful group of nations
He is missing the G7 discussions on Ukraine today, and a planned meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Downing Street would not expand on what a mooted European sanctions package is likely to include but said it would aim to keep ‘up the pressure on Russian military industrial complex’.
A No10 spokesman earlier dismissed suggestions that the limited detail about the announcement reflected divisions within the G7 on the issue of Moscow.
‘I don’t agree with that characterisation at all,’ the official said.
‘It’s just a point of fact that the G7 has only just begun.
‘The sessions are just beginning now, and it would be premature to get ahead of what those sessions will yield.’
In a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday, Mr Trump said the decision to oust Russia from the former G8 had been a ‘mistake’.
Moscow was expelled from the group following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Sir Keir said: ‘The fact is, Russia doesn’t hold all the cards.
‘So, we should take this moment to increase economic pressure and show President Putin it is in his, and Russia’s interests, to demonstrate he is serious about peace.
‘We are finalising a further sanctions package and I want to work with all of our G7 partners to squeeze Russia’s energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war.’
Mr Trump is missing the G7 discussions on Ukraine today, and a planned meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky
UK intelligence has assessed Russia’s forces as likely having sustained approximately 1,000,000 casualties since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, but it continues pounding Ukraine with drone and missile attacks.
Mr Zelensky is expected to attend the conference in Kananaskis, along with leaders from Canada, the US, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain.
The Ukrainian president has accepted a US-backed ceasefire proposal and offered to talk directly with Mr Putin, but the Russian leader has so far shown no willingness to meet him and resisted calls for an unconditional truce.
