Russian invasion

Trump's tariff policy

Trump's tough demands on the EU: "Enormously harmful"

Donald Trump has pressured both the EU and now NATO to impose sanctions on countries that trade in Russian oil and gas. For the EU, it is relatively easy to get member states to phase out the energy, but other demands from the US president are almost impossible to meet. Politico writes this in a review where they list how difficult the demands are to live up to.

The site writes that it would be difficult for NATO countries to phase out Russian oil, mainly because Turkey has made a lot of money by continuing to buy and distribute the raw material.

In the trade agreement with the US, the EU has promised to buy American energy. But this will be very difficult to fulfill, according to Politico. Partly because the amount exceeds the US's total exports.

As a final push, Trump wants the EU to impose sanctions on China, among other things because they buy Russian oil. But the site believes this is completely unreasonable to achieve. The economic ties run deep and it would harm the EU financially to impose sanctions on one of its largest trading partners.

– It would be enormously damaging, says David Henig at the think tank ECIPE.

Negotiations 

New meeting with Trump – Zelenskyj demands “clear position”

US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyj are expected to meet in New York next week. This is what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says, according to AFP.

Trump still hopes that a broad ceasefire can be achieved between Russia and Ukraine, despite the fact that negotiations have completely stalled.

– Trump has had several conversations with Putin and several meetings with Zelenskyj, including a supposed meeting in New York next week, says Rubio and continues:

– He will keep trying. If peace is possible, he wants to achieve it.

At the same time, Zelenskyy says in an interview with Sky News that he needs “a clear position” from Trump.

– Before we end the war, I really want to have all the agreements in place. I want a document that is supported by the United States and all European partners, he says. 

Negotiations on a ceasefire have stalled – this has happened

• Russia rejected several proposals for a month-long ceasefire and demanded an end to military support and mobilization in Ukraine.
• The United States and Europe pressed for an unconditional ceasefire, but Russia insisted on negotiations on the causes of the conflict before a ceasefire could be discussed.
• Several meetings between Ukraine, Russia, the United States and European countries were held in the spring and summer of 2025 without a breakthrough, often with low-ranking Russian delegates and without a mandate to discuss a ceasefire.
• Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating temporary agreements to stop attacks on energy infrastructure, which undermined confidence in a sustainable ceasefire.
• In August 2025, the US focus shifted from a ceasefire to a direct peace agreement, as Donald Trump believed that a ceasefire alone would not last.