‘Maybe Putin Doesn’t Want To Stop War’: Trump Mulls Tougher Sanctions After Talks With Ukraine's Zelenskyy

Trump criticises Putin for recent attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine. He suggests that Putin might not want to stop the war and hints at the possibility of additional sanctions against Moscow.

United States President Donald Trump criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin following his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome.

Source : X/@KremlinRussia_E | X/@ZelenskyyUa

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for recent attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine, suggesting that the Russian leader might not be interested in ending the conflict. In a post on Truth Social following his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome, Trump said, “Maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war,” and hinted at the possibility of additional sanctions against Moscow. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” he stated.

“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” Trump added.

In his post, Trump criticised the New York Times' coverage of his administeration's attempts to seal a peace deal. He wrote, "This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine. It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is."

Meanwhile, the Kremlin, as reported on Saturday, said Putin had told US envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow on Friday that he was prepared for talks with Ukraine “without preconditions.”

'Symbolic Meeting That Has Potential To Become Historic': Zelensky On Meeting With Trump In Rome

Trump and Zelensky held a second meeting later on Saturday on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome. Their first interaction, a 15-minute exchange, was described as “constructive” by Kyiv.

Following the meeting, Zelensky posted on X, “Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you,” along with a photograph of the meeting.

According to news agency AFP, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov told reporters, “The leaders agreed to continue their discussions today. Teams are working on organising the continuation of the meeting.” The Ukrainian presidency also released photos showing Trump and Zelensky engaged in a face-to-face discussion, as well as a four-way meeting involving French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.