(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that the United States is making efforts to withdraw from the “mess” of the Ukraine conflict. When questioned about continued US funding for Ukraine despite Kiev’s intensified draft policies, Trump responded, “This is Biden’s war, not mine. I’m here to get us out of it.”

The journalist mentioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent decree allowing conscription of men over 60 years old. Trump replied, “I hadn’t heard that, but again, this is Biden’s war, and we’re working hard to exit.”

In recent weeks, Trump has threatened to impose full tariffs and secondary sanctions on Russia’s trade partners to pressure Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire. Russia has condemned these moves as illegal. When asked if he would carry out these tariff threats, Trump said the decision would be made after a scheduled meeting in Russia involving his special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

“I never specified a percentage for tariffs, but we’ll do quite a bit,” Trump added. “We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow, and we’ll decide then.”

Separately, Trump announced plans to significantly raise tariffs on Indian imports within 24 hours, targeting New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil. India, a major buyer of Russian crude along with China, vowed to protect its national interests in response. Beijing also condemned the tariff threats, promising to defend its sovereignty against what it called coercion.

The Kremlin criticized Trump’s tariff threats, emphasizing that sovereign nations have the right to choose their trade partners, according to spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

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