Reference News Network, July 16 report: The Russian newspaper "Moscow Komsomolskaya Pravda" website published an article titled "Trump Threatens Putin with a Fist" on July 14, authored by Mikhail Rostovsky. Excerpts from the article are as follows:

Moscow has received a "time-sensitive ultimatum": if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached within 50 days - that is, in early September - US President Trump will attempt to impose a 100% "secondary tariff" on all of Russia's trade transactions with its foreign partners. Trump is currently satisfied with the current plan, which allows him, rather than Congress, to decide whether this sanction takes effect.

At first glance, all these details are good news for Russia. First, a new round of economic warfare against Russia has been postponed or even put on hold. Second, the US Congress has been excluded from the decision-making process. The principle of the institution approving sanctions against Russia is "once passed, it cannot be revoked." Of course, 50 days pass quickly. But as Trump again hinted, he actually doesn't really want to carry out this threat.

Imposing a 100% "secondary tariff" on all of Russia's trade transactions with its foreign partners is essentially an attempt to exclude Russia from the entire world economic system, while cornering major powers such as China and India. How this would work in reality, or whether it would work at all, remains unknown. However, one thing is clear: all of Trump's recent actions are an invitation for continued political negotiations with Russian President Putin, who spoke politely with him. Perhaps using the word "pressure" instead of "invitation" is more appropriate.

But we should not underestimate the importance of the shift in US policy. At present, Trump is only waving his fist at Russia, and many observers in Moscow immediately began to mock this move. But there are also different voices. Ivan Timofeev, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, wrote on the social platform "Telegram": "We may have just seen the end of attempts at Ukrainian negotiations... We are returning once again to the situation where the West expects to break Russia through sanctions." The prospects for peace in Ukraine seem increasingly distant.

Timofeev said: "The optimism in our exchanges is somewhat puzzling. Yes, the sanctions that many expected were not implemented immediately, but the risk structure itself is deteriorating again."

The Ukraine crisis is entering a new phase, and the process seems unstoppable. People should not be misled by the farce-like atmosphere that Trump is accustomed to creating. Although the escalation of the situation has been postponed, it has not been canceled. (Translated by Liu Yang)

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