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Trump teases 'major statement' on Russia, Putin ahead of NATO meet
Trump, who initially blamed Zelenskyy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict continuing, expressed displeasure with Putin.
US President Donald Trump announced that he would have a ‘major statement’ on Russia on Monday. “You'll be seeing things happen”, Trump said, adding, “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.”
Trump, who had initially pinned equal blame on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing the conflict with Russia, seems to have turned his displeasure squarely towards Vladimir Putin.
What could be in Trump’s statement?
Axios reported that Trump would announce an ‘aggressive’ weapons plan for Ukraine, while Bloomberg reported a few days back that the POTUS was mulling new sanctions on Russia. All of this comes ahead of the meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte next week, with the latter doing his best to curry favour with Trump at the recent summit at The Hague.
Patriot missiles for Ukraine, but US won’t foot bill
Trump, who was earlier averse to sending military equipment to Ukraine, said that the US was sending Patriot missiles but declined to comment on the number. The President, however, said that the US would not be paying for them since they would give the missiles to NATO, which would foot the bill, and in turn, help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian onslaught.
What Trump said about Putin
“Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening,” a disgruntled Trump said, adding, “I thought he [Putin] was somebody that meant what he said. And he talked so beautifully, but then he bombed everyone at night. We don't like that.”
Earlier in the week, the firebrand president noted, “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all of the time, but it turns out to be meaningless”, as per CNN.
Kremlin, meanwhile, on Friday said it awaited Trump’s major statement, but didn’t show signs of easing up on Ukraine, with Reuters reporting drone and missile attacks on western Ukraine that left two dead.
