Trump prioritises Saudi ties in first foreign leader call after re-election
\n riyadh
\nSaudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi State news agency said early on Thursday.
\nIn a phone call between the two leaders, the crown prince said the Trump administration\u2019s expected reforms could create \u201cunprecedented economic prosperity\u201d, the state news agency reported.
\nThe report said Saudi Arabia wants its investments to capitalize on these conditions. It did not detail the source of the $600 billion, whether it would be public or private spending nor how the money would be deployed.
\nThe investment \u201ccould increase further if additional opportunities arise\u201d, the agency quoted Bin Salman as telling Trump.
\nTrump fostered close ties with Gulf states including Saudi Arabia during his first term.
\nThe country invested $2 billion in a firm formed by Jared Kushner, Trump\u2019s son-in-law and former aide, after Trump left office.
\nTrump said following his inauguration on Monday that he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first destination for a foreign visit if Riyadh agreed to buy $500 billion worth of American products, similar to what he did in his first term.
\n\u201cI did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our product. I said I\u2019ll do it but you have to buy American product, and they agreed to do that,\u201d Trump said, referring to his 2017 visit to the Gulf kingdom.
\nOn the other hand, Trump stepped up the pressure on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine Wednesday, threatening tougher economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the war.
\nTrump\u2019s warning in a Truth Social post came as the Republican seeks a quick solution to a grinding conflict that he had promised to end before even starting his second term.
\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t make a \u2018deal,\u2019 and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,\u201d Trump said.
\nTrump said he was \u201cnot looking to hurt Russia\u201d and had \u201calways had a very good relationship with President Putin\u201d, a leader for whom he has expressed admiration in the past.
\n\u201cAll of that being said, I\u2019m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT\u2019S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.\u201d
\nHe added: \u201cLet\u2019s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way\u2013and the easy way is always better. It\u2019s time to \u2018MAKE A DEAL.\u2019\u201d
\nRussia already faces crushing US sanctions over the war since invading Ukraine in 2022 and trade has slowed to a trickle. Trump\u2019s predecessor Joe Biden\u2019s administration imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow\u2019s energy sector earlier this month.
\nBut Trump \u2014 a billionaire tycoon famed for his book \u201cThe Art of the Deal\u201d \u2014 and his administration reportedly believe there are ways of toughening measures to press Putin.
\nThe United States imported $2.9 billion in goods from Russia from January to November 2024 \u2014 down sharply from $4.3 billion over the same period in 2023, according to the US Department of Commerce.
\nTop US imports from Russia include fertilizers and precious metals.
\nIt was Trump\u2019s toughest line on Putin since he returned to the White House this week, and comes despite fears that it was Kyiv rather than Moscow that he would strongarm into making a peace deal.
\nDuring a White House press conference on Tuesday Trump said only that it \u201csounds likely\u201d that he would apply additional sanctions if Putin did not come to the table.
\nThe US president however declined to say whether he would continue Biden\u2019s policy of sending billions of dollars in weaponry to help Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trump prioritises Saudi ties in first foreign leader call after re-election riyadh Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi State news agency said early on Thursday. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-457240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n