Topics: Donald Trump, Russia, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Politics, US News, World News
Donald Trump has taken another dig at Ukraine as he reflects on the progress of peace talks.
Donald Trump had a very public bust up with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the end of February, and it seems the pair are still struggling to see eye to eye.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday (March 7), Trump reflected on how well peace talks have been going.
He said the US is ‘doing very well with Russia’, and ‘it may be easier dealing with’ Moscow than Kyiv at this point.
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However, a few hours earlier, Trump did say he was ‘strongly considering’ large scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire with Ukraine was reached.
This threat from Trump is reportedly in response to a large-scale attack Russia conducted on Thursday using missiles and drones to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Trump explained he was considering the tariffs because ‘Russia is absolutely pounding Ukraine on the battlefield right now’.
A few hours later, and Trump would end up complimenting Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying he was acting as anyone would in his position.
Trump said: "I think he's hitting them [Ukraine] harder than he's been hitting them.
“And I think probably anyone in that position would be doing that right now."
Trump has also said he knows that Putin wants to end the war, but has his doubts regarding Ukraine.
When asked why the US has recently cut of military aid to Ukraine, Trump also said: "I want to know they [Ukraine] want to settle and I don't know they want to settle.”
After the fiery meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader issued a statement insisting he was committed to finding a peaceful resolution.
The statement read: “None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.
“We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”
