The Kremlin says it is still "working with the U.S." after comments from President Donald Trump this week, saying he was "pissed off" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In response to the comments spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed the issue during his daily news conference on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), seeming to look to downplay any tension between the two leaders.
"We continue working with the U.S. side, first of all, on building our relations," Peskov, said.
He added that while there were no current plans for a call between Putin and Trump this coming week, “if necessary” the Russian leader was open to one.
Trump's comments were made during an interview with NBC News over the weekend that he was “very angry” with Putin for attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's credibility, and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire.
"You could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when... Putin started getting into Zelensky's credibility, because that's not going in the right location," Trump told NBC News."
This has been the first sign of tension between Putin and Trump, marking a notable tone shift from the U.S. president towards his Russian counterpart which has largely been positive and praising so far in this term.
