U.S. relations on edge as Trump warns Putin and Zelensky
We continue to work on developing relations with the USA and achieving potential peace in Ukraine, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that he is "angry" with Vladimir Putin for questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Peskov added that Putin remains open to contacts with Trump. He stated that a phone call between the leaders could be arranged for this purpose, although nothing like that has been planned for this week yet.
On Sunday, after meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Trump told NBC News that he is "angry" at Putin for questioning Zelensky's legitimacy. He also threatened that if a ceasefire is not reached due to Russia’s fault, he will impose "secondary tariffs" on Russian oil.
A few hours later, Trump said, however, that he doesn't think the Russians are trying to deceive him and added that Putin "wants to make a deal."
Trump warns Zelensky: He will have problems
He also pointed out Zelensky's statements, which in his opinion attempt to withdraw from the agreement with the USA regarding the exploitation of Ukraine's mineral resource deposits.
- I think Zelenskyy, by the way, he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal, and if he does that, he’s got some problems — big, big problems. We made a deal on rare earths, and now he’s saying, ‘well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal.’ He wants to be a member of NATO. Well, he was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that, so, if he’s looking to renegotiate the deal, he’s got big problems - said Trump.
