Featured Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Donald Trump, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Things between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin seem to be a bit tense as the POTUS said he was 'very angry' with the Russian leader's comments about Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House, he said that he would be able to end the war between Ukraine and Russia quickly - but things don’t seem to be moving as quickly as he would have perhaps liked.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing since February 2014, and in recent days, a partial maritime ceasefire was achieved between the countries.
However, on Friday (March 28), Putin recently called Zelenskyy's leadership into question and proposed the United Nations (UN) should take over Ukraine with a temporary government overseen by the U.S. and possibly even some European countries - a move which didn't impress Trump.
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Speaking to NBC News, the president said he was 'very angry' and 'p***ed' off by Putin's comments, telling the outlet that the comments weren't 'going in the right location'.
He continued: "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% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil."
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According to Trump, Putin is already aware of his anger, however, he adds that he has 'a very good relationship with him' and the 'anger dissipates quickly... if he does the right thing'.
Later when speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump clarified that he wouldn't want to 'put secondary tariffs on Russia', as he said Putin's comments 'disappointed' him since the Russian president was supposed to be 'making a deal with him', regardless of his opinion on Zelenskyy.
He added: "So I wasn’t happy with that. But I think he’s going to be good.”
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According to the BBC, the Kremlin have since responded, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov making the suggestion that Trump's comments were 'paraphrased' rather than 'direct quotes'.
He also said work on peace deal with Ukraine was 'ongoing' and that the Black Sea maritime ceasefire was a 'work in progress'.