At The United Nations Session, Trump Threatened Russia With Economic Sanctions Through Tariffs

US President Donald Trump With Russian President Vladimir Putin In Alaska/PHOTO Benjamin D Applebaum Via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump warned Russia he was ready to impose strong economic measures related to the war in Ukraine.

Trump also rejected the steps taken by a number of countries to recognize the Palestinian state, in his enthusiastic speech before the UN General Assembly.

In his first speech at the United Nations since returning to power in January, Trump spoke to dozens of world leaders, many of whom fear seeing the United States turn away from traditional alliances for the "America First" isolation policy.

Trump's warning to Russia comes with little change. He said he wanted US allies to impose the same measures against Russia, which he proposed to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw from Europe's biggest war since the Second World War.

The US president has warned several times about possible sanctions against Russia, but has not followed up. Recently, he demanded Europe stop all Russian oil purchases before he took action.

"If Russia is not ready to make an agreement to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong tariff, which I believe will stop the bloodshed very quickly," he said.

"European countries, all of you who gather here, must join us in adopting the same steps exactly," he continued.

He planned a meeting later on the same day as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Dozens of world leaders gathered in the United Nations on Monday to support the Palestinian state, an important diplomatic change facing fierce resistance from Israel and its close ally, the United States.

Trump rejects state status for Palestine, adopting the attitude of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The reward would be too great for the Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities," he said, repeating his call to repatriate the hostages held hostage by the Palestinian militant group.

Trump said the United States wanted a ceasefire agreement for the hostages who would repatriate all remaining hostages, both alive and dead.