Putin says Europe will stand at feet of master as Trump imposes tariffs

Russia’s Vladimir Putin warned Europe will quickly “stand at the feet of the master” after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, provoking a global markets meltdown and alarm among European allies.

Commenting on Trump’s decision at the weekend to impose trade duties on America’s closest trading partners, the Kremlin on Monday said it was watching on as “tensions” build between the U.S. and its allies.

“You know, there are many tensions there, so, of course, we have no desire to be associated with all this in any way or to evaluate it in any way,” Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters in his daily press briefing.

“Let those countries that are participating in this process sort it out,” he said, according to comments reported by state news agency RIA Novosti, and translated by Reuters.

Trump sent global markets into a tailspin Monday after he announced a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada and a 10% levy on goods from China. The tariffs are set to come into effect Tuesday.

The president said tariffs on the European Union could follow “pretty soon,” but said there could be a deal with the U.K. which, unlike the U.S.’ other largest trading partners, has a more balanced trading relationship with its trans-Atlantic ally.

Officials from the EU have previously suggested that the bloc could respond to U.S. tariffs “in a proportionate way,” with the European Commission on Sunday stating that it would “respond firmly” to any U.S. duties.

While under the enormous weight of international sanctions due to its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia stands to benefit from U.S. tariffs on its trading partners as they are likely to suffer a steep economic hit.

The tariffs also sow disarray among erstwhile allies — partners who, like the U.S. under former President Joe Biden, have looked to weaken Russia’s leadership and economy with punitive measures designed to stymy Moscow’s economic and geopolitical power.

Moscow hopes for a more favorable relationship with Washington now that Trump is back in power, given that he and Putin have had cordial relations in the past, with both leaders expressing admiration for each other, previously.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised President Trump on Sunday, saying his second administration would “restore order” in Europe.

“I assure you: Trump, with his character, with his persistence, he will restore order there quite quickly. And all of them, you will see — it will happen quickly, soon — they will all stand at the feet of the master and will wag their tails a little. Everything will fall into place,” Putin told pro-Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin, who presents the primetime “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” program on the Rossiya-1 state TV channel. The comments were reported by RIA Novosti and translated by Google.

Putin did not give any further explanation as to how Trump could “restore order” — and it’s uncertain what he was referring to with his comments— but Moscow has expressed hopes that its own relationship with the U.S. could improve under Trump.

Meanwhile, the U.S.’ allies in Europe fear the president will stop U.S. military funding for Ukraine and could push Kyiv into peace talks to end the war, which is approaching its third anniversary. Putin said last month that he hoped he and Trump could meet soon to discuss the war and energy prices.

Ukraine warns it could be pushed into a “bad” peace deal in which it’s forced to concede territory to Russia, and that Moscow will regroup before targeting it again in the future.

European leaders are expected to discuss the impending threat of U.S. tariffs when they meet in Brussels on Monday although, ostensibly, the key theme of the meeting is strengthening their defense strategy.

Trump has already warned European leaders that they need to be responsible for their own security, lambasting NATO allies for not meeting defense spend commitments and saying last month that he could ask them to spend even more on defense.

If Trump pulls U.S. funding for Ukraine, Europe will have to confront a decision whether to shoulder the financial burden of Ukraine alone. A number of leaders — particularly those in Eastern Europe who are seen to be on friendlier terms with the Kremlin — are already skeptical of more sanctions on Russia and funding for Ukraine.

Criticising his European counterparts on Sunday, Putin said European leaders on the continent lacked conviction in their beliefs.

Praising former European leaders such as France’s Charles De Gaulle, Jacques Chirac and Germany’s Gerhard Schroeder, Putin said such leaders “had their own opinion and the courage to fight for this opinion, to express it, to talk about it and to try to at least implement it in practical work.”

“Today, there are practically no such people there,” Putin said, RIA Novosti reported.