After Trump sanctions threat, Kremlin says Russia and US working on Ukraine peace moves
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US President Donald Trump said he would be forced to impose tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if he felt Moscow was blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
PHOTO: AFP
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MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on March 31 Russia and the US were working on ideas for a possible peace settlement in Ukraine and on building bilateral ties despite US President Donald Trump saying that he was “pissed off” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump told NBC News on March 30 he was very angry
Mr Trump later reiterated to reporters he was disappointed with Mr Putin, but added: “I think we are making progress, step by step.”
Asked about Mr Trump's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was continuing to work with Washington and that Mr Putin remained open to contacts with Mr Trump.
“We are continuing to work with the American side, first of all, to build our bilateral relations, which were badly damaged during the previous administration,” Mr Peskov said.
“And we are also working on the implementation of some ideas related to the Ukrainian settlement. This work is under way, but so far there are no specifics that we could or should tell you about. This is a time-consuming process, probably due to its complexity.”
A call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin could be set up at short notice if necessary, though none was scheduled for this week, he said.
Mr Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants the three-year conflict in Ukraine
Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.
His comments about Mr Putin on March 30 reflect his growing frustration about the lack of movement on a ceasefire.
"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... I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia," Mr Trump said.
“That would be, that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Mr Trump said. “There will be a 25 per cent tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
Oil prices were little changed on March 31 as traders tried to work out how Mr Trump’s threat of secondary tariffs against the world’s second-largest oil exporter might look.
China and India buy about 80 per cent of Russian crude exports.
Chinese traders said they were unfazed by the threat, while Beijing said its cooperation with Russia is neither directed nor affected by third parties. India declined comment.
Amid efforts by Mr Trump to end the fighting in Ukraine, minerals cooperation has been floated by both Kyiv and Moscow, though Mr Trump said on March 30 that Mr Zelensky wanted to back out of a proposed deal.
Russia and the US. have started talks on joint rare earth metals and other projects in Russia, and some companies have already expressed an interest in them, Mr Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on March 31.
“There are no specifics here yet, but the interest is evident. The interest is mutual, because we’re talking about mutually beneficial projects,” Mr Peskov told reporters. REUTERS
