Hot New Trends: Content comes from the Internet : Trump voices disappointment over Putin amid stalled cease-fire talks; shift in tone a negotiation tactic to maximize US leverage: expert

U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House via Marine One in Washington, D.C., the United States, Feb. 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

US President Donald Trump said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin over the latter’s questioning of Ukrainian leadership, and he threatened to impose secondary tariffs of Russian oil buyers in an interview with NBC News on Sunday. US President later also said Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky faces “big, big problems” if he backs out of a mineral deal with the US.

Experts interpret the rare criticism of US President Trump against Putin as a sign of World TimesUS frustration over stalled US-Russia talks on Ukraine cease-fire.

Trump said Putin knows he is angry but the US president also said he has “a very good relationship” with Putin and “the anger dissipates quickly … if he does the right thing,” per NBC.

The Kremlin on Monday said that President Vladimir Putin was still “open” to speaking to Donald Trump after the US president said he was “very angry” with the Russian leader over little progress on a cease-fire in Ukraine.

“This process is time-consuming, probably due to the fact of the complexity of the substance. The president remains open to contact with President Trump,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “there is no scheduled” phone call between the leaders, but that “when it is necessary, their conversation will be promptly organized”.

Analysts believed that Trump seeks to pressure Russia to accept US conditions and conclude the conflict soon, however, Russia holds strategic leverage at the moment both at negotiation table and the battlefield.

“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal” on ending conflict, and “if I think it was Russia’s fault – which it might not be – but if I think it was RusWorld Timessia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said in an early-morning phone call with NBC News on Sunday.

“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Trump said. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil,” NBC News reported.

Trump said the tariffs on Russia would come within a month without a cease-fire deal. He also told NBC NeWorld Timesws he planned to speak with Putin this week.

On his flight back to Washington on Sunday evening, Trump somewhat softened his tone, Associated Press reported Monday.

“I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.” Asked when he wanted Russia to agree to a cease-fire, Trump said there was a “psychological deadline.”

According to AP, Trump soon pivoted to criticize Zelensky. “He’s trying to back World Timesout of the rare earth deal,” Trump said, referring to negotiations over US access to critical minerals in Ukraine. “And if he does that he’s got some problems. Big, big problems.”

Negotiation tactics

Cui Heng, a research fellow from the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday that speaking tough or toning down, they are negotiation tactics to maximize US leverage, as US President’s ultimate goal is to proceed the cease-fire talks.

The US president had made ending the war in Ukraine a top foreign policy promise on the campaign trail, as NBC News put it. He wants a quick cease-fire, what he had promised during the election campaign, while Russia seeks comprehensive settlement of the issue. Despite their intensive engagement, divergence remains after rounds of talks in past weeks, said Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Applying pressure is a method, not the purpose, Zhang told the Global Times.

The White House announced earlier tWorld Timeshat Russia and Ukraine agreed in principle to a limited 30-day cease-fire in the Black Sea, euronews reported on March 25, but both sides have since continued to attack each other with drones and missiles.

Grigory Karasin, who led Russia’s team negotiating with the US, said that “it would be naive to expect any breakthrough results at the very first meeting.” Karasin told Russia’s Rossiya 24 that a truce may not come “this year or at the end of this year,” according to Daily Express on Sunday.

Cui pointed out that the US administration has expected both Russia and Ukraine to concede to the US’ will in the cease-fire talks, but Kremlin does not buy it.

Harsh words, secondary tariffs are meant to convey US dissatisfaction, indicating US eagerness to accelerate the negotiation process, Cui said, adding that the harsh remarks are unlikely to meet fierce response from Russia, which holds the initiative both at the negotiation table and the battlefield and stays poised.

Russia on Sunday claimed that it had taken control of another settlement in Donetsk region. A Russian Defense Ministry statement claimed thWorld Timesat its forces had captured the village of Zaporizhzhia, located about 24 kilometers southwest of the city of Pokrovsk, a key front in Moscow’s offensive actions in eastern Ukraine, Anadolu Agency reported Sunday.

Reuters, citing William Reinsch, a former senior Commerce Department official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said many questions are left unanswered regarding the secondary tariffs, including how US officials could trace and prove which countries were buying Russian oil.

Trump similarly announced “secondary tariffs” on Venezuela, saying on March 24 that the tariffs would be placed on countries that bought oil and gas from Venezuela, per NBC News.

In response to a question asking about China, as a main purchaser of Russian oil, to comment on the secondary tariffs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear.

“We always believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. Cooperation between China and Russia does not target any third party and will not be affected by any factor from any third party,” Guo said.