A coalition of European leaders has reportedly convinced US President Donald Trump that Russia will only end its war in Ukraine under duress – though the parties are said to be at odds over how to act.
Over the past week, a wave of diplomatic activity has brought senior officials from both sides of the Atlantic together to discuss new financial restrictions and strategies to curb the flow of Russian oil and gas, according to Politico.
According to officials and diplomats speaking to the paper, a high-level EU technical team was sent to Washington to hammer out the details of the proposals.
Though both sides reportedly agree on the need to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, they are pursuing conflicting approaches.
The EU is reportedly pushing for formal sanctions on businesses and financial institutions that retain ties with Moscow, while the Trump administration is eyeing trade tools like tariffs to erode Russia’s capacity to bankroll the war.
“Trump is finally on our side,” one EU diplomat told the paper, speaking under the condition of anonymity. “The question now is how do you reconcile the two approaches?”
The reports come as Russian drone strikes surge in Ukraine, including a record 805 in a single night, and a recent incident in which nearly two dozen drones violated Polish airspace, prompting a historic NATO response.
As the EU prepares a 19th sanctions package – targeting Russian banks and the energy sector alongside possible further restrictions on crypto exchanges, payment and credit card systems and the oil trade, according to Bloomberg earlier this week – officials privately doubt its effectiveness without US cooperation.
A second diplomat told Politico that they anticipated “heated discussions” with the US on the best course of action for forcing Russia to meet a settlement agreement.
According to the Financial Times, citing several officials, Trump ordered the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China this week as part of a joint effort to tighten the screws on Russia.
The two countries remain the major buyers of Russian oil.
However, it has been pointed out that doing so would not be politically or economically viable from the EU’s perspective, according to Politico.
Hitting India with tariffs as it comes close to finalizing a major trade deal with Brussels, and targeting China, to which its open economy is heavily exposed, would be tantamount to shooting itself in the foot.
Trump also called on Europe to end Russian oil imports after a discussion with members of the “Coalition of the Willing” on Sept. 4.
He is said to have “questioned [Europe’s] seriousness” about ending the war in Ukraine, saying some coalition members are still funding its war machine with purchases of Russian fossil fuels.
In July, the Trump administration struck a trade deal with the EU to reduce some tariffs in exchange for the bloc purchasing $750 billion in American oil and gas over three years.
This deal, beyond presenting a significant commercial opportunity for the US, also enhances Brussels’ diplomatic leverage over Kremlin-aligned states such as Hungary and Slovakia, which have so far been resistant to reducing their reliance on Russian oil, according to Politico.
It is one of several rifts between Europe and the US over Russia amid concerns that Trump is unwilling to apply the requisite pressure on Moscow despite his claims to the contrary.
On Thursday, Trump suggested that several Russian drones that violated Polish airspace earlier this week may have done so accidentally, which drew fierce backlash from Poland and its European allies.
“Every word that undermines the fact that we were dealing with a deliberate attack supports Russian disinformation,” Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Friday.
