Putin’s demands on Friday for new leadership in Ukraine prompted Trump to issue a rare rebuke of the Russian leader, threatening sanctions on Russian oil exports if Moscow does not demonstrate more flexibility in talks with Kyiv.
“If I think they’re tapping us along, I will not be happy about it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, referring to Putin.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, who played golf with Trump on Saturday, said he suggested to the president to lay out April 20, the Easter holiday, as a deadline for Putin to agree to ceasefire terms that Kyiv has already accepted — or face costs.
“I do think that the president of the United States is a very skillful negotiator, and he’s trying to find the right balance,” Stubb said in an interview with Sky News.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he expects to speak with Putin this week, adding he was “pissed off” and “angry” over the Russian leader questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy, because it moved talks in the wrong direction.
Trump and Putin last spoke by phone on March 18.
Ukraine has backed U.S. proposals for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, more limited proposals for a ceasefire on energy infrastructure and a deal to limit attacks in the Black Sea.
However, Russia’s negotiators during talks in Saudi Arabia last week placed various demands on any deal, calling on the U.S. to help lift sanctions on Russian banks and promote Russian fertilizer and agriculture on the world market.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
