US President Donald Trump touched on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on his flight back to Washington on Sunday evening. He expressed his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin but spoke softer than before.
“I don’t think he’s going to break his word,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always had a good relationship.”
Trump also said there was a “psychological deadline.” “If I think they’re dragging their feet, I’m going to be unhappy,” he added.
Trump then criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “He’s trying to walk away from the rare earth deal,” Trump said.
“And if he does that, he’s going to have problems — big, huge problems,” he stressed.
According to Trump, Zelensky wants to “revisit the deal” for more reliable security guarantees. “He wants to be a member of NATO. But he’s never going to be a member of NATO. Member. He understands that,” he concluded.
Earlier, the US president had announced that if Russia did not agree to end the war with Ukraine, he would impose secondary tariffs on all Russian oil.