Trump prepares to start the clock on new Putin deadline

US president Donald Trump said he is “very disappointed” in Vladimir Putin, and that he’s cutting Moscow’s 50-day deadline to avoid secondary sanctions on Russian oil to between 10 and 12 days from now, unless the Russian president brings his three-year-old war on Ukraine to an end.

- ANDREW FEINBERG IN WASHINGTON DC

Mr Trump said yesterday that the countdown to the new deadline could start “tonight or tomorrow”.

Speaking alongside Sir Keir Starmer on the steps of his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, the US president complained that Putin had too often talked a good game about wanting to reach a ceasefire in the conflict, only to resume bombing civilian targets in short order.

“We thought we had that settled numerous times. And then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv, and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. You have bodies lying all over the street. And I say that’s not the way to do it,” Mr Trump said. “I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed in President Putin. Very disappointed in him. So we’re going to have to look, and I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number.”

During a separate media availability alongside Sir Keir prior to a bilateral meeting yesterday, Mr Trump told reporters that the new deadline would be “about 10 or 12 days from today”.

“There’s no reason in waiting ... I want to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made,” he said. “I’ll announce it, probably tonight or tomorrow. But there’s no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait?”

Asked whether he thinks Putin has been lying to him about his intention to end the war, Mr Trump said he did not want to use the word “lying” but went on to complain that Putin would discuss peace plans during their phone conversations, only to launch new attacks on civilians thereafter.