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President Donald Trump called on European leaders to stop “funding” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and accused them of failing to pressure China.
In a statement to Fox News Digital following a call between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders who met in Paris for a Coalition of the Willing summit, a White House official said, “President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war – as Russia received €1.1 billion [nearly $1.3 billion] in fuel sales from the EU in one year.
“The President also emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts,” the official added.
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The EU has drastically cut its imports of Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine, though the president’s comments point out that it has not completely cut off its energy imports from Moscow.
The White House did not confirm where it pulled its figures from or the period of time it referenced.
The official highlighted the fact that the U.S. under Trump has not been a member of the Coalition aimed at backing Ukraine, and said, “[French] President [Emmanuel] Macron and European leaders called President Trump into their ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting.”
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff also attended the meeting in Paris and was seen giving Zelenskyy a handshake and a hug at the beginning of the meeting on Thursday, according to a video posted by Macron’s office.
Despite the tough tone from the White House, Macron described the Coalition of the Willing as having “made real progress in Paris” on Thursday.
It remains unclear what specifically was ironed out during the summit, though Macron said following the meeting that some 26 nations had agreed to deploy troops “by land, sea or air” to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire deal is secured, reported the BBC – a move that Putin has repeatedly condemned.
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In a post on X, Zelenskyy said the meeting focused on how to up the “pressure” on Putin to end his three-and-a-half-year-long war.
“We talked about how to push the situation toward real peace,” Zelenskyy said. “We discussed different options, and the most important is pressure, using strong measures, particularly economic ones, to force an end to the war.
“The key to peace is depriving Russia’s war machine of money, depriving it of resources,” he added.
Zelenskyy also said the leaders discussed how to better defend Ukraine’s skies from the constant barrage of missile and drone attacks by Russia, though the White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions on whether the U.S. has pledged further support.
“Ukraine has proposed a format for protecting our skies for the U.S. to consider,” Zelenskyy said. “I thank President Trump for supporting our people. We agreed on further contacts.”
The meeting came just one day after Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Bejing for a military parade commemorating the cessation of World War II hostilities 80-years ago.
Both China and North Korea have remained steadfast supporters of Putin during his war in Ukraine and amid rebuke from the West.
Putin on Wednesday also invited Zelenskyy to meet with him in Moscow, which Ukrainian and Western security officials have flagged as disingenuous amid pressure from Trump for the pair to meet.
Trump said he will speak with Putin in the coming days.
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