Russia Trump angry with Putin - threatens Moscow's oil customers with tariffs
US President Donald Trump says he is "pissed off" with Vladimir Putin - but at the same time has announced that he will meet with the Russian president again in the coming days. "I was very angry and very pissed off when Putin made comments about the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and started talking about new leadership in Ukraine," he said in an NBC interview.
30.03.2025, 19:34
SDA
Trump also threatened to impose punitive tariffs on buyers of Russian oil. This could make exports more difficult for Moscow and reduce its foreign exchange earnings. Russia's major customers include India and China - new tariffs would therefore presumably lead to major economic upheaval.
Trump left it open as to when exactly he wanted to talk to Putin again. They last spoke on the phone on March 19. The part of the NBC interview on Putin was posted by a White House account on the X platform.
NBC journalist Kristen Welker reported that Trump had called her and made his anger clear. If he could not reach an agreement with Russia to end the bloodshed in Ukraine, "and if I believe it was Russia's fault - which it may not be - but if I believe it was Russia's fault, then I will impose secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil that comes from Russia".
The tariffs would therefore amount to 25 percent and could come at any time. Trump had recently announced so-called secondary tariffs against Venezuela. These punitive tariffs are to be paid by every country that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela.
