Trump has warned of 25% US tariffs on Russian oil and urged Putin to stop Ukraine’s bloodshed with a tense diplomatic standoff.
US President Donald Trump said he was “p****d-off” with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russian oil if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire to end the war in Ukraine.
“If Russia and I can’t get a contract to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if it’s Russia’s fault – that may not be the case, but if it’s Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary tariffs on all the oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said in an interview with NBC on Sunday.
Trump said a 25% tariff could occur at any time, adding that he plans to talk to Putin this week.
According to the report, when the Russian president began to question the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky and discussed the outlook for a new Ukrainian leader, Trump was “angry and p**** doff”.
On Thursday, Putin proposed that a temporary government under UN oversight should be introduced in Ukraine.
Russian officials have repeatedly trusted Zelensky’s legitimacy as president, noting that elections have not been held since his term expired.
There is no scheduled vote in Ukraine as the country’s constitution, which has been elected since the invasion of Russia’s neighboring nations began three years ago.
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow to Trump’s comments. Russia calls the numerous Western sanctions and restrictions “illegal” and is designed to make the West economically advantageous in its rivalry with Russia.
Trump’s latest remarks followed the weekend meeting with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Golf Day.
Stubb’s office said it had told Trump that he needed to set a deadline to establish a ceasefire for the Russian Ukrain to make it happen, and proposed April 20th as Trump had been in office for three months at the time.
US officials have urged Kiev to accept important mineral agreements for Kiev, but the summary suggests that the US has been demanding all of Ukraine’s natural resource revenue over the years. Zelenskyy says the draft needs to be reviewed before Kyiv’s lawyers say more about the offer.
Last week, Trump imposed what was called a 25% secondary tariff on US imports from countries that buy oil or gas from Venezuela.
His remarks on Sunday suggest that he could take similar actions from the US from a country that buys oil from Russia.
Trump said he knows he’s upset with him, but added that “it’s a very good relationship with him” and “the anger will quickly dissipate… if he does the right thing.”
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