After meeting with Zelensky: Trump threatens Putin with punitive measures

After meeting with Zelensky: Trump threatens Putin with punitive measures AFP • 3 hours • 1 minute read US President Donald Trump threatened Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin with punitive measures after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome. "There was no reason for Putin to fire missiles at civilian areas, cities, and towns over the past few days," Trump stated on his online service Truth Social on Saturday. "This makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to end the war at all, but just wants to stall me, and that he needs to be dealt with differently, in 'banking' or with 'secondary sanctions'?" Too many people are dying. On Friday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke with Kremlin chief Putin. According to the Kremlin's statement on Saturday, Putin said he was ready to begin talks with Ukraine "without preconditions." Trump was in Rome on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis. On the sidelines of the funeral mass, he spoke with several leading European politicians, including Zelensky.