U.S. President Donald Trump has reeled in his criticism of Vladimir Putin, appearing to call the Russian leader trustworthy while threatening Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with “big, big problems” over delays to the planned mineral deal between Washington and Kyiv.
Why It Matters
The last two months have seen Europe and Ukraine watch on with apprehension as the newly-installed Trump administration moved closer to Russia, pressing ahead with ceasefire talks and negotiations on a much-discussed mineral deal that have given Kyiv limited room to maneuver.
What To Know
Speaking to the media on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he did not believe Putin would “go back on his word.”
“You’re talking about Putin,” the president said. “I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word.”
Ukraine, and many of its European backers, have maintained that the Kremlin leader cannot be trusted to honor the terms of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal without Kyiv receiving security guarantees.
Still at the forefront of the memories of many Ukrainians is the Budapest Memorandum, when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security “assurances” from Russia, the U.S., and the United Kingdom. Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum when it launched operations against the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and when the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
“I’ve known him for a long time,” Trump said. “We’ve always gotten along well.”
The Republican president had said earlier on Sunday during an interview with NBC thathe was “very angry” and “p***** off” over Putin’s attempts to attack Zelensky’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader.
The Kremlin leader suggested on Friday that Ukraine could be led by a temporary government, steered by the United Nations, to organize elections in the war-torn country before inking a ceasefire deal with Russia.
Russia has, throughout more than three years of full-scale war, attempted to paint the government in Kyiv—and Zelensky—as illegitimate. Ukraine has not held elections since Zelensky swept into power in 2019. The country’s constitution bans national elections when martial law is in force.
His term as president was due to end in 2024, but martial law has been in place since Moscow invaded in February 2022. Zelensky has said elections will take place when martial law is lifted.
Trump himself has called Zelensky a “dictator,” a label he refused to pin on Putin when probed by reporters.
The president then said on Sunday that Zelensky was “trying to back out of the rare earth deal.” The U.S. president was referring to a U.S.-Ukrainian agreement for Washington to benefit from the latter’s mineral, oil and gas production, a deal that was expected to be signed during Zelensky’s visit to Washington last month.
This visit ended with Trump and Vice President JD Vance berating the Ukrainian leader in front of the world’s media. The White House has presented the deal, with its constantly-changing provisions, as a way for the U.S. to recoup the aid it has sent to Kyiv over the course of the war.
“I see he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,” Trump said. “If he does that he’s got some problems. Big, big problems.”
Zelensky had said on Friday he would not sign a deal that jeopardizes Ukraine’s path to European Union membership.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday that the U.S. had “passed along a completed document for the economic partnership” to Ukraine, adding: “We hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week.”
President Donald Trump said of Vladimir Putin on Sunday: “I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether Kyiv and Washington will ink the minerals deal in the coming days, and how much progress will be made on next-stage ceasefire negotiations.
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