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U.S. & Russia meet for Ukraine ceasefire talks
U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed partial ceasefire in Ukraine on March 24, meeting with representatives from Russia a day after holding separate talks with the Ukrainian team. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, joins LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.
President Donald Trump called "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker Sunday morning to offer rare criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s remarks are an about-face to the dramatically shifting U.S.-Russia relations as Trump made quickly ending Russia’s war with Ukraine a top priority — even at the expense of straining ties with longtime American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.
Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting, and the feasibility of a partial ceasefire on the Black Sea was thrown into doubt after Kremlin negotiators imposed far-reaching conditions.
Trump’s comments on Putin
A day after an exclusive phone interview with NBC, Trump reportedly called "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday morning to say he’s "pissed off" at Putin. He threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russia’s oil.
What they're saying:
"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," Trump said, per NBC News.
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive to waiting media during a joint press conference after their summit on July 16, 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Trump added that 25% tariffs on Russia’s oil could happen "any moment," telling Welker that he plans to speak with Putin again this week.
Trump told Welker he was "very angry" and "pissed off" when Putin referenced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s credibility and called for new leadership in Ukraine.
Putin proposed Friday to temporarily put Ukraine under external governance as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, in remarks that reflected the Kremlin leader’s determination to achieve his war goals.
In televised remarks broadcast, Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraine’s constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while it’s under martial law.
Trump rarely criticizes Putin
Dig deeper:
Trump rarely criticizes Putin, and his latest comments seem to contradict past statements about Zelenskyy and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.
In late February, Trump falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war that has cost tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives, calling Zelenskyy " a dictator without elections" and claiming his support among voters was near rock-bottom.
Zelenskyy called those claims disinformation that’s coming from Russia, and some of what Trump has said does echo Russia’s own narrative of the conflict.
On Feb. 28, Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy during a heated meeting in the Oval Office.
RELATED: Trump-Zelenskyy meeting gets heated: 'Gambling with World War III'
"You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have," Trump told Zelenskyy in a stunning lack of White House diplomacy.
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Full video: Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the White House Friday for a high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump, as he tries to persuade the White House to provide some form of U.S. backing for Ukraine's security against any future Russian aggression.
"You see the hatred he’s got for Putin," Trump said. "That’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate."
Trump has said repeatedly he wouldn’t have allowed the conflict to start if he had been in office, even though he was president as fighting grew in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv’s forces and separatists backed by Moscow, ahead of Putin sending in tens of thousands of troops in 2022.
RELATED: Ukraine agrees to potential ceasefire terms; intelligence sharing set to resume
In a January interview with Russian state television, Putin praised Trump as a "clever and pragmatic man" who is focused on U.S. interests.
Trump’s comments on Iran
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Iran rejects direct negotiations with US
Iran's president says the country is rejecting direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, This, in the first response to a letter President Donald Trump sent to the country’s supreme leader.
What's next:
Trump also spoke about Iran in the phone interview with NBC and threatened secondary tariffs on that country, too, if Iran doesn’t agree to a nuclear deal.
"If they don’t make a deal there will be bombing," Trump said. "And it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before."
The Source: This report includes information from NBC's Meet the Press, The Associated Press and previous LiveNow from FOX reporting.