President Donald Trump is not happy with how both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin are talking about the war in Ukraine, the White House confirmed on March 31.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is working hard to help end the war, but he doesn’t like what he’s hearing from either side.
“He’s not pleased with the things both leaders have said,” Leavitt told reporters during a press release. “He’s made it clear what he thinks needs to happen to stop the war.”
She didn’t say exactly which comments upset Trump but said the U.S. is still pushing for a peace deal.
Trump is especially angry at Putin, who recently said Zelenskyy is not a legitimate president and suggested putting Ukraine under temporary international control to hold new elections. The idea was rejected by Ukraine and criticized by the U.S. and its allies.
Trump said these kinds of comments make peace harder to reach and that he’s also not thrilled with Zelenskyy’s recent statements.
To put pressure on Russia, Trump has threatened to add new tariffs—up to 50%—on Russian oil if no peace deal is reached soon.
“If Russia doesn’t agree to stop the war, I’ll put new tariffs on all their oil,” Trump said. “Anyone who buys Russian oil won’t be allowed to do business in the U.S.”
This would hit Russia’s economy hard and is meant to push Putin to agree to a deal.
U.S. officials are continuing to hold meetings with both sides. Some progress has been made, such as a 30-day ceasefire in the Black Sea and a ban on strikes against power stations. But a full ceasefire has not been reached.
