U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly "pissed off" and "very angry" regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's fixation over President Volodymyr Zelensky, NBC News reported on March 30.
In a call with NBC News journalist Kristen Welker, Trump said Putin's latest demand for a transitional government that would replace Zelensky suggests that peace talks are “not going in the right location."
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Russian oil if he deems that Russia is preventing peace talks from progressing.
“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 News.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
However, Trump also reiterated that he has "a very good relationship" with Putin and "anger dissipates quickly ... if he does the right thing.” The U.S. president added that he plans to speak with his Russian counterpart again in the near future.
Moscow previously rejected a full 30-day truce agreed upon by the U.S. and Ukraine in Jeddah on March 11 unless it included conditions undermining Ukraine's ability to defend itself, including a full halt on foreign military aid.
After the U.S. brokered a partial ceasefire in March, Russia has only stepped up its attacks against Ukraine, including deliberately targeting a military hospital in Kharkiv in its latest overnight attack on March 30.
Despite occasionally floating measures such as extra sanctions and tariffs on Russia, Trump has so far not taken concrete measures to put pressure on Moscow, which shows little intention of stopping on the battlefield.
Instead, the president has largely focused his leverage on Ukraine and Zelensky, already once cutting off U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing, and pressing Kyiv to sign different versions of an exploitative deal to hand to Washington revenue from Ukraine's mineral wealth.
Kate Tsurkan
(Updated: )
