U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of an impending “economic war” if he fails to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to end the ongoing conflict. Trump stated that he had prepared “very serious consequences” should the fighting continue.

“This will not be a world war, but an economic war. And an economic war would be disastrous. It would be extremely harmful to Russia, and I do not want that,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday (Aug 26).

He made the remarks when asked whether there was a deadline for Putin to agree to a bilateral meeting with Zelenskiy before the U.S. enforces the threatened sanctions.

“This is very serious, what I am considering, if I have to go through with it,” he said, referring to the war’s death toll, which he claimed reaches thousands each week.

Trump had previously vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office. However, the conflict has proven difficult to resolve, even after a historic meeting on August 15 in Anchorage between Trump and Putin that was initially seen as potentially groundbreaking.

Trump’s shuttle diplomacy with both Putin and Zelenskiy had raised hopes for the first direct meeting between the two leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

Yet, more than a week after the Alaska meeting, no date has been set for such a summit. The White House previously expressed confidence that Putin had agreed to meet Zelenskiy and that preparations were underway. However, the Kremlin has not confirmed this.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC last Friday that Putin is willing to meet Zelenskiy if the agenda for the meeting is clearly defined. “However, the agenda is not ready at all,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions and “other consequences” on Moscow and countries purchasing Russian crude oil, arguing that they are helping to fund the war. He has already doubled import tariffs on India to 50% over its purchases of Russian oil but has so far refrained from imposing similar measures on China and other nations buying Russian crude.

Trump also voiced frustration over Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine despite his direct talks with Putin.

“Zelenskiy is not entirely without fault, either,” he said on Tuesday. Trump had previously criticized Zelenskiy for what he described as a lack of gratitude toward U.S. support, even calling the Ukrainian leader an obstacle to peace.

“Everyone is playing their position,” Trump remarked, responding to Lavrov’s statement that Putin would not sign a peace agreement with Zelenskiy.

Trump also proposed a peace summit during a phone call with Putin on August 18, following earlier meetings with Zelenskiy and European leaders at the White House to discuss security guarantees deemed essential for ensuring long-term peace and deterring further Russian aggression.

On August 23, Zelenskiy announced that his government would soon unveil new security guarantees backed by the U.S. and European partners “in the coming days.”