U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first time he’s directly criticized the Kremlin as he tries to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
The American president appeared to be fed up with Putin over the stall in the cease-fire talks after Moscow announced additional conditions before it would comply with a US-backed deal to limit attacks in the Black Sea and on energy facilities, according to a phone interview with NBC News on Sunday, March 30
Trump has previously lauded Putin as a “genius,” and even suggested Ukraine was at fault for the 2022 Russian invasion.
However, on Sunday, March 31, Trump railed against a report that Putin called for a transitional government in Ukraine that would push out President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin also said Ukraine’s generals should remove Zelensky themselves, according to the AFP.
“If Russia and I 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 told NBC.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” he added. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
Trump warned that the tariffs against Russia would come within a month if a cease-fire deal isn’t reached.
Despite Trump previously supporting Moscow’s claims against Zelensky’s legitimacy earlier this year, the president pivoted and condemned Putin’s attacks on Zelensky. He said such words were “not going in the right location.”
Trump had previously steered clear of attacking Putin, often describing the Russian president as a “savvy” leader and repeating Moscow’s claims about the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time Trump acknowledged that Putin appeared to be trying to delay the end of the war.
The president, however, said he still maintains a “very good relationship” with Putin and added that his anger would end so long as Putin “does the right thing.”
The two world leaders are expected to speak again this week to try and move the cease-fire along, Trump told NBC.
The Trump administration continues to push for an end to the war to fulfil the president’s campaign promise, with the US securing two cease-fire agreements last week to halt attacks against each nation’s energy grid and in the busy Black Sea trade route.
Russia, however, broke both agreements within hours and then called for a slew of new conditions to fulfil the deal, including a call for Europe to lift several economic sanctions against Russian businesses.
