Donald Trump Says He Is ‘P****d Off’ With Putin As Ukraine Peace Talks Continue
Donald Trump has said he is “pissed off” with Vladimir Putin as his attempts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine drag on.
The US president said he was “very angry” at his Russian counterpart for suggesting Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be replaced as Ukraine’s leader.
He also said he would impose tariffs on Russian imports if a ceasefire is not agreed within a month.
Zelenskyy has agreed to an unconditional 30-day truce in the war, but Putin has so far refused to follow suit.
Instead, the Russian president has made a series of demands in return for a partial ceasefire.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said: “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… I am going to put secondary tariffs… on all oil coming out of Russia.”
On Putin’s call for Zelenskyy to be replaced, the president said: “You could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when… Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right location.
“New leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time.”
However, Trump insisted he still had “a very good relationship” with Putin and planned to speak to him later this week.
The US president’s comments are his most outspoken criticism of the Russian president since he returned to the White House in January.
Up until now, he has reserved most of his condemnation for Zelenskyy, who he described as a “dictator”, while repeating many of Putin’s own attacks on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has updated Trump last week’s meeting in Paris of the “coalition of the willing” – around 30 nations prepared to protect Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
The prime minister spoke to the president in a phone call on Sunday evening.
A No.10 spokesperson said: “The leaders agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin. They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days.”
