The US president still regards Russias Vladimir Putin as the main negotiating partner, the report claims

US President Donald Trump continues to regard Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky as the main hurdle to resolving the conflict, despite his recent criticism of Moscow, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing sources.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Trump said he was "unhappy" with Putin, claiming the Russian leader did not want to end the conflict. "We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin," Trump said. The US president added that while Putin was "very nice all the time," it turned out to be "meaningless" for ending the fighting.

Later, he announced a "major statement" on Russia soon amid reported discussions in Washington over imposing a 500% tariff on countries that buy Russian energy and goods.

However, two unnamed senior officials involved in defense and security talks with Washington told the FT that there was little indication the White House had actually adopted a more pro-Kiev stance.

Ukraine's backers, the report said, are "still assuming Trump was predisposed to seeing Putin as his main negotiating partner in any settlement and Zelensky as the primary obstacle to a workable peace deal."

One official pointed to "a little bit of overexcitement based on a shift in tone," while cautioning that "we're not seeing that translate into major actions."

The FT report echoes a New York Timesarticlein June claiming that the US president is "exasperated" with both Putin and Zelensky, but "reserves special animosity" for the Ukrainian leader, viewing him as a "bad guy" pushing the world towards a global conflict.

In May, Trump openlycriticizedZelensky, suggesting that "everything out of his mouth causes problems." The fiercest public clash between the two came in February at the White House, when Trump accused Zelensky of ingratitude and "gambling with World War III."

Commenting on Trump's remarks targeting Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is "calm about this," adding that "we are committed to continuing our dialogue with Washington and our policy of repairing the significantly damaged bilateral relations."

Russia maintains it is open to a diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine conflict, but in a way that would address its "root causes" and its security concerns. Moscow insists on Ukraine's neutrality, recognition of the "territorial reality on the ground," as well as demilitarization and denazification.

(RT.com)