(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on March 30, 2025 shows US President Donald Trump at the White House on March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 18, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI and Maxim Shemetov / AFP)
Washington: US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was "very angry" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, NBC reported, marking a sharp change of tone as Washington seeks to end the war in Ukraine.
NBC's Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his anger over Putin questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's future as a leader -- something that Trump himself has done.
Welker, on her NBC show "Meet The Press" on Sunday, quoted directly from an early-morning telephone conversation with the president.
Trump said that "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" then he would impose "secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia."
Welker said Trump told her "I was very angry, pissed off" over Putin's recent comments about Zelensky's credibility and talking about new leadership in Ukraine.
Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite talks with both sides.
Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelensky be removed from office as part of the peace process.
Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive, with a fresh attack over the weekend on the northeastern border city of Kharkiv.
Trump told NBC that Putin knows he is angry, but said that he has "a very good relationship with him" and "the anger dissipates quickly... if he does the right thing."
