Trump Says Putin 'Let Me Down,' Allies Must Stop Buying Oil

President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had “really let me down,” but insisted allies must stop purchasing oil from Russia if they want the US to further intervene and pressure the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine.

“Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin is going to drop out,” Trump said Thursday following a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “He’s going to have no choice. He’s going to drop out of that war.”

Trump indicated he’d be willing to consider other efforts to punish Putin, but he signaled those moves would be contingent on allies ending purchases of Russian energy.

“I’m willing to do other things, but not when the people that I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia,” Trump said.

The European Union is looking at ways to more quickly phase out Russian liquefied natural gas imports. There are also plans for a potential meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York next week.

One US proposal that’s been advanced calls for secondary tariffs of as much as 100% on goods from China and India as well as other trade restrictions meant to curb the flow of Russian energy and prevent the transfer of dual-use technologies into Russia.

But aggressive steps including cutting off energy purchases are unlikely to be accepted by some nations that can block joint European Union actions, leaving talks at a stalemate and prompting questions about whether Trump, who has long enjoyed a friendly relationship with Putin, was committed to a pressure campaign.

Starmer also suggested that some European nations hadn’t done enough to wean themselves off Russian energy supplies.

“I think it is a challenge to Europe,” he said. “There are a number of European countries which are too reliant on energy from Russia.”

Direct purchases of Russian oil by most European nations have stopped since Moscow’s invasion began in 2022, however a small volume continues to flow to landlocked countries in eastern Europe including Hungary.

There’s a more complicated interplay with refined fuels like diesel. Europe, which needs to import from elsewhere to meet its needs, buys large volumes of fuel from India and Turkey, nations that buy crude from Russia and then process it to sell abroad at a profit. Those purchases are permitted for now, though they are set to be banned from early next year. The exact details of how the ban would work remain uncertain.

Oil traders have been on edge for weeks because of the potential risk to Russian flows from US efforts to end the war as well as Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian energy facilities. So far, though, there hasn’t been an impact on supply large enough to push crude out of the $65 to $70 a barrel band it has been trading in since early August, and India is continuing to buy Russian oil.

Trump insisted he was committed to ending the conflict and repeatedly expressed his frustration with Putin, even as he maintained the conflict was unlikely to affect the US directly.

“He has let me down. I mean, he’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people than he’s, you know, than he’s killing.”

Starmer said their discussions had included “how we can build our defenses to further support Ukraine and decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last.”

“In recent days, Putin has shown his true face mounting the biggest attack since the invasion began with yet more bloodshed, yet more innocents killed and unprecedented violations of NATO airspace,” Starmer said. “These are not the actions of someone who wants peace.”

The UK prime minister said it was important for Trump to intervene because it was only with his pressure that Putin has “actually shown any inclination to move.”

And while Trump spent the majority of his time expressing frustration with allies, the president did at one point indicate that there could be “some good news for you coming up” on the situation with Russia.

Trump has been urged to heighten pressure on Putin following their August meeting in Alaska. Trump had heavily encouraged a subsequent Putin-Zelenskiy summit, but that shows no signs of happening, as renewed efforts to quickly broker a ceasefire or peace accord faltered.

At the same time, the Group of Seven nations have been developing a new sanctions package.

Further moves to clamp down on Russia’s oil sales could starve the Kremlin of revenue helping finance the war in Ukraine but also tighten energy supplies globally. Meanwhile, doubling tariffs on India has strained ties between Washington and New Delhi.

Trump on Thursday said that he was frustrated that others were unwilling to take aggressive steps when he had moved against India, which he said he was “very close to.”

Zelenskiy has suggested that a stepped-up economic pressure campaign — including US sanctions — could compel Putin to the negotiating table, telling Sky News earlier this week that Trump has “enough force to make Putin afraid of him.”

European sanctions have been advanced, Zelenskiy said, adding: “All that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US. More needs to be done, quicker.”

Ukraine figured repeatedly into Trump’s trip to the UK, with King Charles III on Wednesday calling for united resolve to support Ukraine, counter tyranny and “deter aggression.”

Trump has appeared increasingly frustrated with Putin since the Aug. 15 summit with the Russian leader and has frequently described the Ukraine war as the most challenging international dispute he’s attempted to resolve. Trump initially had suggested the war could be ended by his first day back in office.

Instead, Russia has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, unleashing large, lethal strikes on Kyiv in defiance of Trump’s calls for peace. After Russian drones crossed into Poland earlier this month, the NATO member asked for additional air defense systems to protect against future incursions.

Over the past month, Ukrainian military forces have intensified drone attacks on Russian energy facilities, including a strike reported on an oil refinery in the country’s Volga region, seen as a bid to curb flows of fuel to the front lines. Two other refineries were attacked on Thursday.