Photo: Getty Images
President Donald Trump threatened to "come down very, very strong" on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he refuses to make peace with Ukraine during an appearance on FOX & Friends Friday (September 12) morning.
Trump said that his patience is "sort of running out and running out fast, but it does take two to tango," claiming Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hadn't been willing to negotiate a peace agreement at various times.
"It's amazing, when Putin wants to do it, Zelensky didn't. When Zelensky wanted to do it, Putin didn't. Now Zelensky wants to, and Putin is question mark, but we're going to have to come down very, very strong," Trump said on FOX & Friends via the New York Post.
"It'd be hitting very hard on with sanctions to banks and having to do with oil and tariffs also. But I've already done it. I've done a lot. Look, India was their biggest customer. I put a 50% tariff on India because they're buying oil from Russia. That's not an easy thing to do. That's a big deal, and it causes a rift with India."
Trump's FOX & Friends appearance came days after Polish and allied NATO forces shot down several Russian drones during what was described as "unprecedented" aggression in its airspace, ABC News reports. At least 19 Russian drones were reported to have violated Polish airspace overnight, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Trump previously claimed that the drone incursion could have been a mistake, which was dismissed by Tusk.
"I’m not going to defend anybody but they were actually knocked down and fell into airspace,” Trump said during his FOX & Friends appearance on Friday. "But he shouldn't be close to Poland anyway."