United States President Donald Trump expressed strong displeasure over recent remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticising his call for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be removed in favour of a transitional government.
In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump made it clear that he was frustrated by Putin’s comments, emphasising that such actions could derail the ongoing ceasefire negotiations between the two countries.
Trump argued that Putin’s statement questioning Zelensky’s credibility was a setback, stating, “If I feel we’re in the midst of a negotiation, you could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when Putin started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right direction.
“New leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time,” he added.
He also issued a stern warning, threatening to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil if a ceasefire deal was not reached.
The proposed tariffs could range from 25 percent to 50 percent on all Russian oil exports, and would be enforced in a month if no ceasefire agreement was made.
“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.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States.
“There will be a 25 percent tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil,” Trump added.
The US President also criticised Ukrainian leadership, particularly Zelensky, last month, referring to him as a “dictator” and questioning his approval ratings in Ukraine.
As of now, Moscow has not responded to Trump’s comments, though he indicated he would speak with Putin later this week.