<h1>Sanctions policy: President signals contingent measures against either Ukraine or Russia while keeping diplomatic leverage active.</h1> The President signalled a contingent sanctions policy as leverage in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, suggesting temporary restraint on direct intervention while keeping the option to impose sanctions on either belligerent. Germany reaffirmed military support for Ukraine, maintenance of a special defence modernisation fund, and advocacy for higher allied defence-spending benchmarks; trade measures including threatened automotive tariffs were presented as an economic lever, with formal trade negotiations remaining an EU competence. Diplomatic tensions over public remarks on democratic norms were identified as affecting transatlantic policy coordination.