Donald Trump has said he is "very angry" and "pissed off" with Russian President Vladimir Putin after weeks of attempting to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine,
BBC reports.
In an NBC News interview, the US president criticised Putin for attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's credibility, and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if he did not agree to a ceasefire.
Last week, Putin suggested the possibility of a UN-run government in Ukraine to organise new elections and then begin peace talks.
Trump's comments mark a change in tone towards Putin. Over the past six weeks, Trump has publicly harangued Zelensky and demanded numerous concessions from Ukraine's president.
On Sunday, he accused Zelensky of "trying to back out of" a deal to share Ukraine's rare minerals with the US and warned of "big, big problems" head should that be the case.
In turn, Trump has flattered Putin and largely given in to the Russian president's demands.
European leaders had worried that Trump was cosying up to Putin.
But Trump's comments on Sunday appeared to be a departure from that dynamic.
It is the first time the US has seriously threatened Russia with consequences for dragging its feet in ceasefire negotiations, which would seem to put the diplomatic ball back in Moscow's court.
NBC News reported that, in a 10-minute phone interview, Trump said he was very angry and "pissed off" when Putin criticised the credibility of Zelensky's leadership, although the president has himself called Ukraine's leader a dictator and demanded that he hold elections.
"You could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when... Putin started getting into Zelensky's credibility, because that's not going in the right location," Trump said.
"New leadership means you're not gonna have a deal for a long time," he added.
