Donald Trump 'wasn't happy' with Russian president Vladimir Putin, after suggesting that he was moving in the wrong direction with the war in Ukraine.
Just months after branding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a 'dictator', Trump is now defending the war-time leader following confrontations with Russia.
Trump was far from impressed with the Russian leader's approach to a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, and proposed hefty tariffs on the country if they do not cooperate.
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The Republican leader said in a telephone interview with NBC News that he was 'p***ed off' with Putin, and encouraged him to do the 'right thing'.
Speaking over the weekend, Trump said: "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."
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The abrupt change in direction came after Putin appeared on Russian TV on Friday, suggesting that Ukraine could be placed under a temporary UN-led government while elections are organised, before attempting to negotiate peace.
Trump noted that Putin 'started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility', which he said made him 'very angry'.
He added: "New leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time, right."
"The anger dissipates quickly [if Putin] does the right thing," he added.
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The reporter asked if his relationship with the Russian leader was at its lowest point yet, to which Trump responded: "No, I don’t think so, I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word.
"I was disappointed in a certain way. Some of the things that he said over the last day or two having to do with Zelenskyy...he’s supposed to be making a deal with him, whether you like him or you don’t like him. So I wasn’t happy with that."
During his election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine in '24 hours' - a claim he recently admitted was a little 'sarcastic'.
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Despite saying that he was in favour of a ceasefire earlier this month, Putin noted that 'there are nuances' with the war in Ukraine.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia happened in February 2022, starting the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Topics: Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Politics, World News
Mia Williams