Trump took umbrage with Vladimir Putin after he questioned Zelensky’s credibility last week, insisting the current Ukrainian government needed to be ousted and replaced with an interim administration.
His words ring joy in the ears of officials in Kyiv given that Trump had labelled the Ukrainian president a ‘dictator without elections’ only weeks ago and claimed he was ‘sick’ of handling the war and aiding Kyiv.
Speaking with NBC host Kristen Welker over the weekend, Trump warned that Moscow could face a new round of harsh economic sanctions for the flub in peace negotiations.
He said this would include a tariff of between 25 and 50 percent on oil from Russia, as well as a warning to other countries that if they do buy oil from Putin’s country, ‘you can’t do business in the United States.’
The Kremlin has however reacted to Trump’s news citing that President Vladimir Putin was still ‘open’ to speaking to Donald Trump after the US president said he was ‘very angry’ with the Russian leader over little progress on a ceasefire in Ukraine.
‘This process is time-consuming, probably due to the fact of the complexity of the substance. The president remains open to contact with President Trump,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He added that ‘there is no scheduled’ phone call between the leaders, but that ‘when it is necessary, their conversation will be promptly organised’., their conversation will be promptly organised’.
