US President Donald Trump said that he is "very angry, pissed off" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's future as a leader. Trump said that the development was "not going in the right location". Trump's remarks are in sharp contrast to what he himself said about Zelenskyy earlier, as he referred to him as "dictator".
Trump's sudden change of tone over Moscow
In a mark of sudden change of tone towards Russia, Trump said that if he and Russia are "unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine and if I think it was Russia’s fault, which it might not be, but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia", Trump said, according to a report in NBC news.
Trump expressed his frustration over Putin's comments in which he questioned Zelenskyy's credibility and spoke about new leadership in Ukraine.
After coming into power, Trump has been pushing for a quick end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which was one of his significant poll plank in the run up to the US Presidential election last year.
Moreover, Trump also underscored that Putin is aware that he is angry and that he shares "a very good relationship" with the Russian leader.
Trump, Putin agreed to immediately pause in strikes over crucial infrastructure
Previously, Trump and Putin agreed to an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in the Ukraine war, but the Russian leader stopped short of backing a broader 30-day pause in fighting that the US administration is pressing for.
The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting.
Moreover, Ukrainian officials had proposed a ceasefire covering the Black Sea and long-range missile strikes and the release of prisoners at their meeting with the US delegation in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
(With AP inputs)
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