Trump says Ukraine 'shouldn't target Moscow' amid reports of Zelensky being asked about strikes
This comes hours after a Financial Times report stated that he had asked Zelensky whether he could strike Moscow.
During a phone call with the Ukrainian President on July 4, Trump had allegedly asked whether Ukraine could strike Russian capital Moscow and St Petersburg if the US provides them with long-range weapons.
Zelensky replied in the affirmative to the question, Bloomberg reported quoting a person who had been briefed about the conversation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked about Trump's query, said that the US President was 'merely asking a question' and not 'encouraging further killing'.
'He's working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war,' Leavitt said.
Trump had on Monday said he would send Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine, after his initial reluctance to send weapons to the country.
However, with his recent frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin evident, Trump called NATO secretary general Mark Rutte last week to 'ramp up support' for Ukraine.
Rutte stated that Trump had said he was 'irritated' with Putin for not considering a peace deal with Ukraine.
The US President has also threatened 100% tariffs on Russia if Moscow does not agree to a peace deal to end the war in 50 days. '…we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs at about 100 per cent,' Trump said, while adding that he was 'very unhappy' with Russia.
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