Donald Trump appears to have set Vladimir Putin a deadline for ending the war in Ukraine.
Asked in the Oval Office on Wednesday if he thought the Russian president wanted to end the war, Mr Trump said: “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks.”
The US president continued: “We’ll find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not and if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently but it will take about a week and a half to two weeks.”
Mr Trump added that he was “very disappointed” by recent missile and drone attacks by Russia. “When I see rockets being shot into cities, that’s no good. We aren’t going to allow it.”
It was the latest suggestion that Mr Trump’s patience with Putin was running out, after previously labelling him “crazy” and accusing him of “playing with fire”.
The US president said he is considering imposing fresh sanctions on Russia, though said he did not want to do so if he thought a deal was close.
It came after Russia proposed new direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday. Kyiv said it was considering the proposal but that it wanted the outline of a ceasefire from Moscow first.
--Telegraph--