The President reiterated his demand that European nations completely stop all energy purchases from Russia as he considers implementing his initial sanctions on Moscow since returning to office amid its war in Ukraine.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday evening, Trump indicated that European nations, especially those within NATO, are not doing enough to counter Russia, despite the new round of sanctions enacted by the EU last week.
“They are not fulfilling their responsibilities. NATO needs to unite. Europe needs to unite,” Trump stated. “Europe… they are my friends, but they are buying oil from Russia, so we cannot be expected to be the only ones going ‘full bore.'”
“Europe is purchasing oil from Russia. I do not want them to buy oil,” he continued, pointing out that the sanctions Europe has issued on Russian entities and officials “are not sufficiently stringent.”
“I am prepared to implement sanctions, but they will have to strengthen their sanctions to be proportionate with what I am doing,” Trump confirmed.
While European nations have significantly reduced their reliance on Moscow’s oil following the Russian President’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, they have not entirely ceased imports—particularly countries like Hungary, Slovakia, France, Belgium, and Spain, which are Europe’s primary importers of Russian energy.
Hungary—whose president has maintained a distinct relationship with Russia despite being a NATO nation—is Europe’s leading importer of Russian crude oil and pipeline gas, acquiring more than double the volume of Russian energy imports compared to any other European nation.
France, which ranks as the second-largest European purchaser of Russian energy, continues to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), a practice that has largely increased, partly due to long-standing legally binding commitments.
These agreements mean Paris is obligated by “take-or-pay” contracts through the early 2030s or would face arbitration or financial penalties. Reporting indicates, however, that these LNG imports are not only designated for French consumption but are also being re-routed to third-party nations like Germany.
Last month, the EU’s Data Protection Authority confirmed that the bloc had imported nearly 85 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in the first half of 2025.
Trump’s remarks came just one day after he sent a message on Truth Social stating he is “ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia.”
But when questioned on Sunday about his plans to hit Russia with additional U.S. sanctions—which have not been expanded since the Biden administration—he implied Europe might also need to take similar action.
The president asserted that all Russian imports are supposed to be prohibited at this time and said, “The deal is, they’re not supposed—whether it’s natural gas or whether it’s cigarettes, I don’t care—they’re not supposed to be buying from Russia.”
The president did not elaborate on which deal he was referring to, and he did not comment on the approximately $700 million in Russian goods the U.S. has purchased in the first five months of 2025, largely consisting of enriched uranium, palladium, and fertilizers.
In addition, he called on NATO allies to impose “50% to 100% tariffs” on China, which he stated would be withdrawn only after the war in Ukraine concluded—a rate currently higher than the 30% tariffs Washington has placed on Beijing, though which could significantly expand given Trump’s recent threats to impose universal tariffs on Chinese imports.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions regarding this reporting.