US President Donald Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would follow through on striking a ceasefire agreement and accused Ukraine of attempting to negotiate an economic deal with the US, in the latest turn in his whipsaw effort to negotiate a temporary truce in the ongoing conflict.
“I want to make sure that he follows through, and I think he will,” Trump said of Putin on Monday in the Oval Office. “I want to make sure that he follows through, and I think he will. I don’t want to go secondary tariffs on his oil, but I think, you know, something I would do if I thought he wasn’t doing the job.”
The remarks came after Trump over the weekend threatened “secondary tariffs” on Russia and told NBC News in a phone call that he was “very angry” at Putin. The remarks marked the strongest criticism he’s offered of the Russian president to date, as Trump tries to quickly secure a halt to the fighting sparked by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. While Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a partial truce, a broader ceasefire has eluded Trump, who before taking office vowed to quickly resolve the war.
President Trump also talked about an upcoming foreign trip and about tariffs set to roll out on April 2nd with reporters at the Oval Office during an executive order signing with musician Kid Rock looking on. The order directs the Federal Trade Commission to work with the Department of Justice to enforce competition laws in the concert and entertainment industry.
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