KEY POINTS
- US President angry with Putin
- Putin to Meet Wang Yi during Moscow visit
- Trump threatens to impose tariffs on oil coming out of Russia
- Russia wants the West to lift sanctions
- Europe calls on China to press Moscow to start peace talks
MOSCOW, Russia: The Kremlin on Monday said that President Vladimir Putin is still “open” to speaking to the US president after Donald Trump expressed frustration at both Moscow and Kyiv for what he sees as stalling peace talks.
“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 organised”.
“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 – which it might not be… I am going to put secondary tariffs… on all oil coming out of Russia,” Donald Trump said in an NBC News interview.
The US President expressed anger at Putin for questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s credibility and warned of a 50% tariff on nations purchasing Russian oil if Putin refused to agree to a ceasefire.
Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to the truce following separate talks with Washington in Saudi Arabia, but Russia said it would only enter into force once the West lifted certain sanctions affecting its agricultural exports.
Oil imports
According to NBC News, former US President Joe Biden banned Russian oil imports shortly after Russia started a war with Ukraine in 2022.
Since then, the amount of Russian oil imported to the United States has plummeted, to only 10,000 barrels of Russian crude oil and petroleum products in 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Putin to Meet Wang Yi during Moscow visit
The Kremlin on Monday said President Putin is expected to host China’s top diplomat Wang Yi during his visit to Moscow this week.
Moscow and Beijing have confirmed that Wang Yi plans to discuss Ukraine with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, as China considers its stance while Washington pushes for an end to the three-year conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to Wang and Putin as “good old friends and partners” and stated that a bilateral meeting is expected during Wang’s visit to Moscow, which will take place from Monday to Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Wang and Putin as “good old friends and partners”, and said they expected a bilateral meeting during Wang’s visit to Moscow, set to last from Monday to Wednesday.
China has close ties with Russia and Western nations have said that its vision for a settlement in Ukraine would be too beneficial for Moscow.
European countries have called on China to press Moscow to start peace talks with Ukraine.
It is pertinent to mention that the Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia was engaged in “intensive” dialogue with the US, including discussions on sanctions after the two sides negotiated the contours of a Black Sea ceasefire alongside Ukraine.
Russia wants the West to lift sanctions on state-owned agricultural lender Rosselkhozbank, as well as other Russian financial institutions linked to food and fertilisers.
