Washington DC, 20 August

US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday (local time) said that US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on India to deter Russia from pursuing the Ukraine conflict. Trump has doubled India's tariff to 50 per cent by imposing an additional 25 per cent levy on the previously announced 25 per cent.

Leavitt, during her press briefing, said that the intent behind the sanctions was to put secondary pressure on Russia.

"Look, the president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He's taken actions, as you've seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well. He's made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end, and he has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place," she said.

Earlier, Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, with the former signalling his openness to a trilateral meeting with Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Trump said that he had a very successful day, while Zelensky noted that this was the "best conversation" he had with the US President so far.

Leavitt further said that Trump wishes to bring peace as soon as possible.

"The president wants to move and he wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible... With all of those European leaders leaving the White House, including the NATO Secretary General, they all agree that this is a great first step. And it's a good thing that these two leaders are going to be sitting down together, and the president expects that to happen," she said.

Leavitt further said, "I can assure you that the United States government and the Trump administration are working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen as we speak."

Leavitt said that Trump's relentless efforts at brokering peace led to the European leaders being present at the White House within 48 hours of his meeting with Putin.

"The President met with all of these European leaders at the White House 48 hours after sitting down with President Putin on American soil. In fact, there was so much progress in the readout that was given to these European leaders immediately following his meeting with President Putin that every single one of them got on a plane 48 hours later and flew to the United States of America," she said.

"So these leaders who this war is in their backyard are very grateful that the president took that call and that he was there to provide them with a readout of Russia's thinking on this, something that was not done by the previous administration at all," she added.

Leavitt reinstated the White House's claim that if Trump were the president, the war would have never happened when a reporter asked a question in that regard.

"The president often says that this war would not have started if he were in office and and Putin confirmed that," the reporter asked.

Trump has repeatedly stated that the war wouldn't have started if he were in office, and surprisingly, Putin seems to agree. When asked about this, Leavitt confirmed that Putin did indeed say that.

"True. Do you accept that as true? The European leaders do. Well, and President Putin himself said that, by the way," Leavitt said.

A reporter asked what Trump plans to do to ensure security guarantees last beyond his presidency. Leavitt responded that Trump understands the need for lasting peace and is engaging in discussions with European leaders and NATO to achieve this goal.

Leavitt highlighted Trump's dedication to bringing the war to an end, saying he has spent a significant amount of time and energy on this effort. Trump has been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to brief them on the situation.

 (ANI)