Donald Trump has not taken kindly to recent comments made by Vladimir Putin concerning the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Though the POTUS has come in for extensive criticism regarding his ties to the Russian dictator (he previously claimed to have “always had a good relationship” with him), the landscape may now be changing after Putin made comments about wanting a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine.
Bringing about an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has been a pledge of Trump’s since he took office in January. The US president has effectively attempted to force his way in as a third party between Ukraine and invaders Russia, aiming to bring Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the negotiating table.
Trump had previously stated that he could bring about an end to the war in 24 hours. Now, 70 days in to his effort, he appears to have been met with another huge hurdle.
Speaking to NBC, Trump admitted he was “p****d off” with Putin’s calls for Ukraine to adopt a transitional government which would force the defiant Zelenskyy out of office. For the record, Ukraine’s constitution makes it clear that elections are suspended during wartime.
Trump courted controversy recently when he bafflingly labeled Zelenskyy a dictator who’s “gambling with world war three”.
In the weeks following, peace talks looked to have been progressing. A full ceasefire, however, looks unlikely, with Russia having outlined a set of conditions that Ukraine, in all probability, aren’t going to agree to.
In the NBC interview, Trump let it be known what he thought of Putin’s recent comments regarding the Ukrainian presidency.
Trump said: “If I feel we’re in the midst of a negotiation, you could say that I was very angry, p***ed off, when Putin said yesterday that – you know, when Putin started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right direction.”
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.”
This comes after Trump threatened Putin with a “bad punishment” if the Russia leader didn’t accept a ceasfire.
What do you think of Trump’s involvement in the ongoing war in Ukraine? Let us know in the comments.
