Trump Flanks Europeans, Zelenskyy: Will Lift Sanctions on Russian Oil

March 11—After a long discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin March 9, President Donald Trump has decided to lift sanctions on the sale of Russian oil and natural gas, ostensibly to ease the spike in prices that has been attributed to the war in Iran. However, sources close to the White House reported that there is much more to Trump's decision than simply trying to lower energy prices.

Trump, these sources say, is directly putting pressure on Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European NATO members—such as Great Britain, France, and Germany—who have backed his sabotage of Trump's efforts to end the war. With the U.S. sanctions in the process of being lifted, it is now up to the Europeans to allow purchases of Russian energy supplies or to suffer the effects of skyrocketing prices on their economies. Incredibly, these sources report, the Europeans are telling Trump that they may continue to prevent purchases from Russia, which will cause unrest in their countries. "Ultimately it will be up to the European people to demand that their governments act sanely," said a source familiar with Trump's thinking. "And, once they get in motion, the people might also finally demand an end to Europe's support for Zelenskyy's losing war on behalf of NATO against Russia. Trump sees this as setting in motion a process that could finally end the war."

Trump’s Warnings to Zelenskyy and NATO Allies

Over the last few weeks, Trump has leveled strong criticism of Zelenskyy, saying that he, not the Russians, is what is keeping the war going --statements that have rattled NATO and the European Union. Trump has told Zelenskyy that he must yield to Russian demands for the small area of the Donbass that they don't already control militarily, and that if he does not compromise, Ukraine will soon be defeated on the battlefield and the U.S. will not bail them out.

Putin had offered Trump help in securing peace in the Middle East after the U.S. and Israel launched war against Iran two weeks ago. Trump responded that he could ease tensions there by ending the war with Ukraine.

Trump and Putin Call Signals Shift Toward Coordination

"I had a very good call with President Putin," Trump said in remarks to reporters after delivering a speech to House Republicans at their annual caucus retreat.

"We had a lot of people on the line from our side, from his side," Trump said of the call with Putin. "We were talking about Ukraine, which is just a never-ending fight.

"Look, there's tremendous hatred between President Putin and President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. They can't seem to get it together. But I think it was a positive call on that subject. And we obviously talked about the Middle East. And he wants to be helpful. I said, 'You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with.' That would be more helpful. But we had a very good talk, and he wants to be very constructive."

Later, in discussion with CBS News, Trump discussed sanctions relief: "So, we have sanctions on some countries. We're going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out," he said without providing further details. "Then who knows? Maybe we won't have to put them on. There'll be so much peace."

Russian-Iranian Dynamic and Trump’s Strategic Calculation

Sources report that Trump had spoken with his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff about the idea, who had floated it to the Russians. Trump was also made aware that Putin has warned Iran against any efforts to close the critical Strait of Hormuz to shut the flow of oil out of the region.

None of this is contradictory to general Russian support for Iran. "The relationship with Iran is complicated," said one source. "The Russians have always been opposed to Iran developing nuclear weapons. They had urged the Iranians to make a deal with Trump and had warned them of the consequences of not getting that done. Putin also has no intention of coming to the aid militarily of Iran—unless the U.S. or Israel should use nuclear weapons." This and other sources say Iran is under Russia's nuclear umbrella.

European Tensions Rise as Energy Costs Soar

Meanwhile, Trump's statements and his apparent willingness to coordinate with Putin have sent Zelenskyy into a rug-chewing fit. He has been on the phone with NATO leaders and others urging Europe "not to take Trump and Putin's bait, and not to buy Russian oil and energy products when sanctions are eased. But the Europeans cannot survive with $150/barrel oil. There is little or no support for the Ukrainians in the European population. They are not willing to go broke for Ukraine."

There are reports that Zelenskyy has called the White House to speak to Trump, but the President was "too busy" to take his call.

Trump’s Stance on Iran and U.S. Naval Action

"I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the global oil supply," Trump said March 9. "And if Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level.

"I will take out those targets that were easy and that I mentioned just before, will take them out so quickly they'll never be able to recover, ever. If they want to play that game, they better not play that game. In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles, nuclear menace or anything.

"So, the Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe. … When the time comes, the U.S. Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait if needed. I hope it's not going to be needed, but if it's needed, we'll escort them right through. In recent years, the regime and its terror proxies have launched attacks on hundreds of commercial vessels. We're putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil and gas prices for American families."

The Pentagon confirmed today that the U.S. sank more than 10 Iranian mine-laying vessels as they were preparing to lay mines in shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranians restated their intention today to block all oil shipments from the region for the duration of the war.