BLoomberg: Trump retreated from Putin's criticism and resumed attacks on Zelensky
Trump backed away from criticizing Putin and instead again accused Ukraine of trying to renegotiate the terms of an economic deal with the United States, BLoomberg writes. Trump is in a hurry to "make a deal," but Moscow has made it clear that this is a very difficult process. Putin does not intend to back down from his demands.
President Donald Trump has backed away from criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and instead again accused Ukraine of trying to renegotiate the terms of an economic deal with the United States.
The US leader is in a hurry to reach a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine before his first hundred days in office expire. Frustrated by the delays, he criticized Putin last weekend. However, on Monday, Trump again vented his anger at Vladimir Zelensky.
This inconsistency plunged the world into a geopolitical shock on the eve of Trump's announcement of large-scale duties on April 2 and demonstrated the US desire to conclude a temporary truce between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible after more than three years of Putin's special operation.
During the election campaign, Trump vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, but soon discovered that Russia was a tough negotiator and intended to extract as many concessions from the United States as possible, taking advantage of Trump's impatience and desire to reach an agreement as soon as possible. On Sunday, Trump told NBC that he was “angry" with Putin.
This is a noticeable change in tone, since Trump has only admired Putin until now. Many wondered if Russia would get to know the “whip" after that Trump is in negotiations. The Kremlin reacted calmly, and a day later, Trump slowed down.
“I want to make sure that he sees it through, and I believe he will," Trump said of Putin on Monday from the Oval Office. ”I don't want to impose secondary duties on his oil, but, you know, I think I'll do it if I decide that he's not going to meet it halfway."
Instead, Trump again vented his anger on his usual target, Zelensky, saying that he had read in the news that Kiev allegedly intended to renegotiate the terms of the partnership for the development of Ukrainian mineral resources.
“I've heard that now they're saying they'll only sign an agreement if they join NATO or something like that,” Trump said. Earlier, the president said that membership in the military alliance had never been discussed and was deliberately excluded due to Russia's position.
In fact, Ukraine has asked the United States for help in joining the European Union, not NATO, and promises to increase investment in the country.
Russia is one of the world's three largest oil producers, and any attempt by the United States to punish third countries for buying its products is fraught with far—reaching consequences for the entire oil market, including through a spike in inflation in the United States.
Already, against the background of Trump's harsh statements against Putin, oil prices rose on Monday. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate soared on Monday evening to $71.48, well above the range of $65 that Trump hailed as his achievement at the beginning of the month.
Trump has already hinted at a deterioration in relations between the United States and Russia due to delays in ceasefire negotiations and has previously expressed concern that Moscow is deliberately dragging its feet.
The latest outburst from the American president followed Putin's comments last Friday. The Russian leader indirectly questioned Zelensky's legitimacy by suggesting that the United Nations take over Ukraine under an interim government under the auspices of the United States and possibly some European countries.
“He has to make an agreement with him, whether he likes him or not,— Trump snapped at reporters on Sunday about Putin. — That's why I didn't like it. But I think everything will be fine.”
Trump told NBC that he and Putin plan to talk again this week. The Kremlin said on Monday that Putin remains open to contacts with Trump. However, the Kremlin's spokesman stressed that no calls have been scheduled yet.
The last publicly disclosed telephone conversation between the two leaders took place earlier in March, when Putin dismissed Trump's proposed thirty-day cease-fire. Instead, Putin agreed only to limit attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, demanding that the United States and other countries stop supplying Kiev with weapons and intelligence.
After subsequent talks held separately with the delegations of Ukraine and Russia in Saudi Arabia, the United States announced that the countries had agreed to a temporary cease-fire in the Black Sea. But while Ukraine has declared its readiness to observe the cease-fire without any reservations, Russia has put forward preliminary conditions, including easing sanctions.
The threat of secondary duties is Trump's innovation for economic pressure on other countries. Earlier, he threatened to impose duties on countries for buying oil from Venezuela in an attempt to curb its trade.
The article was written with the participation of Jennifer Dlugi
Written by Kate Sullivan
