Trump squeezes Putin and Zelensky to speed up a peace deal in Ukraine

Donald Trump expressed frustration over the stalemate in negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine and demanded that his counterparts Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky speed up negotiations to reach a peace agreement. To that end, he reprimanded both leaders and threatened them with taking further measures against each other's countries if there is no significant progress in the short term.

The president targeted Russia first. In a tone very different from that used so far with Putin, Trump acknowledged being "very angry" and "pissed off" at the Russian for calling into question the Ukrainian leader's credibility.

A "very angry" Trump threatens more tariffs on Russia over Putin's actions

The Republican went so far as to threaten new secondary tariffs and the imposition of levies on countries that would negotiate with Russia as he has already done with Venezuela. However, he re-emphasized "the great relationship" he has with the Russian leader and announced a new direct conversation with him for this week.

Trump warns Zelensky of "very big problems" if he breaks mineral agreement

Hours later, it was Zelensky's turn. Trump warned the Ukrainian that he would face "big problems" if he tries to back out of a deal reached with the U.S. on rights to exploit rare minerals and which would allow U.S. companies to participate in the exploitation of Ukrainian minerals.

"I see that it is trying to get out of the agreement on minerals and rare earths. And if he does he's going to have some problems, very big problems," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Trump qualifies his anger with Putin: "I was disappointed in a way"

In addition, Trump qualified his previous statements to NBC about his anger with Putin, noting that he "was disappointed in a way" by recent statements by the Russian leader about his Ukrainian counterpart:

"Putin considers Zelensky to have no credibility. He is supposed to make an agreement with him, regardless of whether he likes him or not. So I wasn't happy with that, but I think it's going to be fine and I certainly wouldn't want to put secondary tariffs on Russia."

Frustration over a peace that resists Trump

Peace in the Ukrainian conflict has been a priority for Trump, who guaranteed he could achieve it quickly. However, Putin dragged his feet on the 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by the U.S. and last Friday and suggested that Zelensky should step down as part of a peace process.

For its part, Ukraine accuses Russia of delaying negotiations while continuing its military offensive to start from a more advantageous position. This weekend there were new attacks in the northeastern Ukrainian border city of Kharkiv.

For the time being, the White House has secured a pact that neither side will attack energy facilities. In addition, last Tuesday, U.S. negotiators announced that both sides had agreed to halt attacks in the Black Sea. However, Moscow noted that the truce will not go into effect until Kiev's allies lift certain sanctions.