Trump said he was “very disappointed” that Putin had not reached a peace deal with Ukraine, but did not specify what consequences Russia would face.
“I would say I am very disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin. We had a great relationship, but I am very disappointed,” US President Donald Trump said on the Scott Jennings radio show on September 2, when asked how he felt about his Russian counterpart’s reaction to the summit in Alaska.
Since the summit in Alaska last month, Trump has urged the Russian leader to hold bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin said on August 29 that President Putin did not rule out the possibility of meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, but said the meeting needed to be carefully prepared. Russia has also stepped up attacks on Kiev in recent days.
However, President Trump did not specify what consequences Russia would face if it did not reach a peace deal with Ukraine. After the Alaska summit, Mr Trump occasionally threatened sanctions against Russia, but also said he could let Russia and Ukraine work things out.
“We’re going to do something to make people live,” the US president added.
Asked later in the Oval Office if he had spoken to Putin recently, Trump said, “I’ve learned some very interesting things. You’ll find out in the next few days,” adding that there would be consequences if Putin and Zelensky did not meet to end the war.
Russia has not commented on the US president’s comments.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on September 1 that the administration would consider response options this week, when asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions on Russia.
“President Putin has done the opposite of what he said. In fact, he’s escalated the attacks. So I think President Trump will be looking at all options,” Bessent said.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has stepped up efforts to broker an end to the fighting in Ukraine. President Trump held a summit with his counterpart Putin on August 15 in Alaska, then met with European leaders and President Zelensky at the White House on August 18.
The events raised expectations for a face-to-face meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky to discuss ways to end the fighting. Both Russian and Ukrainian leaders initially appeared open to this option, but subsequent developments have shown that the prospects for peace talks are slim.