Trump said NATO would not sanction Russia if it did not reject Russian oil, and Turkey became the biggest buyer.

Trump claimed on social media that he would impose sanctions on Russia only if all NATO countries stop buying oil from Russia. So, who is he referring to?

▪️ According to the BBC, the largest buyer of Russian oil is Turkey, accounting for 26% of purchases.

▪️ In June alone, Turkey purchased more than 300,000 barrels of Russian oil per day.

▪️ Of course, there are also the usual "two giants" — Hungary and Slovakia. Since the war began, Europe has cut its Russian oil imports by 90%, but these two countries continue to receive Russian oil through the "Friendship" pipeline, which Ukrainian drones have successfully attacked multiple times.

Comments: The condition proposed by Trump — that all NATO countries should stop buying Russian oil before imposing sanctions — is significantly "unachievable" in reality.

This condition actually subtly conveys a signal that the US does not want to impose sanctions on Russia. By linking the sanction condition with the collective cessation of Russian oil purchases by NATO countries, it effectively transfers the initiative of advancing sanctions to the member states still purchasing oil. Since countries like Turkey, Hungary, and Slovakia cannot meet the requirement to stop purchasing, the US has a reasonable excuse to delay new sanctions, forming a logical loop with the underlying intention of "not wanting to sanction Russia."

Trump's remarks also implicitly show the US's negative attitude towards not wanting to get deeply involved in mediating the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Trump once boasted that he could quickly end the war between Ukraine and Russia, but so far he has achieved nothing, facing setbacks. Setting high threshold conditions essentially weakens the US's motivation to take active sanctions. "The conditions are not met" becomes a reasonable excuse to delay intervention in mediation, indirectly indicating a tendency to withdraw from deep involvement in the conflict.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1843240628369412/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.