Trump warns US will walk away from Ukraine-Russia peace talks unless there is ‘rapid progress’
US President Donald Trump has said Washington would ‘take a pass’ on talks to end the Ukraine war within days unless there is rapid progress from Moscow and Kyiv.
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US President Donald Trump warned Thursday that Washington would “take a pass” on talks to end the Ukraine war within days unless there is rapid progress from Moscow and Kyiv.
His comments came just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set the clock ticking, saying in Paris that the United States could “move on” from its role brokering the negotiations.
Mr Trump has been pressing both sides for a truce, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin despite an icebreaking call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and repeated negotiations with Moscow.
“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people’ -- and we’re going to just take a pass,” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“But hopefully we won’t have to do that.” Republican Mr Trump refused to cast blame on either Mr Putin, who ordered the February 2022 full-scale invasion of pro-Western Ukraine, or Kyiv’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, insisting both sides had to make progress.
But Mr Trump warned that a decision on whether to abandon the talks could come “very shortly”. “No specific number of days, but quickly. We want to get it done,” he added.
US will ‘move on’ if ceasefire isn’t forthcoming
Moscow has kept up strikes on Ukraine, killing at least two people and wounding dozens more in attacks on the northeastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumy, Ukrainian officials said.
One of the few commitments Mr Trump had wrangled from Russia — a temporary moratorium on striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure — “expired” on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to an AFP question.
After meeting European officials in Paris to discuss a ceasefire, Mr Rubio said Washington needed to figure out soon whether a ceasefire was “doable in the short term.”
“Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” he told reporters.
But speaking on a trip to Italy, US Vice President JD Vance still insisted he was “optimistic” about ending the three-year war.
Mr Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office but has little to show for his efforts so far.
He has embarked on a rapprochement quest with the Kremlin that has alarmed Kyiv and driven a wedge between the United States and its European allies.
He and Mr Vance also had a blazing Oval Office row in February with Mr Zelensky, whom he still accuses of bearing responsibility for Moscow’s invasion.
Mr Trump insisted that he was not being “played” by Moscow, which is accused by Ukraine of dragging its feet.
“My whole life has been one big negotiation and I know when people are playing us and I know when they’re not,” the billionaire property tycoon added.
Asked if Mr Putin was stretching out the process, Mr Trump added: “I hope not. I’m going to let you know about that soon if he is … he’s got a big force out there.”
Zelensky slams ‘mockery’ of Ukraine people
Mr Zelensky meanwhile slammed the latest attacks on his country, which came just days before Easter.
Kyiv earlier announced it had received the bodies of 909 soldiers from Russia.
“This is how Russia started Good Friday — with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, Shahed drones. A mockery of our people and cities,” Mr Zelensky said on Telegram.
Russia said it had hit “key drone production sites” and Ukrainian military airfields.
Mr Putin last month rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for a full and unconditional pause in the conflict, while the Kremlin has made a truce in the Black Sea conditional on the West lifting certain sanctions.
Mr Trump has also repeatedly expressed anger and frustration at Mr Zelensky in a marked break from his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Ukraine is set to sign a deal next week in Washington that would give the United States sweeping access to its mineral resources.
European powers have meanwhile been seeking a seat at the table in the negotiations, particularly as Mr Trump’s administration insists the continent should share the burden for Ukraine’s security.
France hosted meetings between US and European officials in Paris on Thursday, saying the talks had launched a “positive process.” The meetings included French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Many allies have however been alarmed by Witkoff — who recently met Mr Putin in Russia — repeating Moscow’s talking points about the war.
Trump to oust US Federal Reserve head, replace tax chief
US President Donald Trump and his administration are studying whether dismissing independent Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell is an option, his top White House economic aide said on Friday, local time.
“The president and his team will continue to study that matter,” National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told reporters when asked if firing the central bank chief was a possibility, one day after Mr Trump lashed out at him.
The US president does not have direct authority to fire Federal Reserve governors, but Mr Mr Trump could initiate a lengthy process to attempt to unseat Mr Powell by proving there was “cause” to do so.
Mr Trump has frequently criticised the Fed chairman, whom he originally nominated during his first term, accusing Mr Powell of playing politics.
Mr Powell had warned Wednesday that Mr Trump’s sweeping tariffs would likely push up prices and constrain economic growth, and could put the Fed in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment.
On Thursday, the Republican president insisted that he could force Mr Powell out. “I’m not happy with him. I let him know it and if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” Mr Trump said.
It comes as the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service will be replaced after President Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Beessent complained after Elon Musk installed him without his approval.
Gary Shapley, the interim head of the IRS, was put there by Musk’s DOGE, but Mr Bessent was not consulted, according to the New York Times.
Previous IRS chief Melanie Krause resigned rather than participate in allowing the administration to use IRS data to help ICE deport undocumented immigrants.
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BIDEN BUNGLES HARVARD VISIT
Former US President Joe Biden has clumsily dropped his ice cream on the floor on a surprise visit to Harvard University, where he also mistakenly referred to Ukraine as Iraq.
The 82-year-old hosted a talk with some 50 students at the Ivy League school’s Institute of Politics where he praised Harvard officials for refusing the Trump administration’s demands to change policies in a bid to curb rampant antisemitism on campus.
“Harvard stepped up in a way no one else has. You should be really thankful,” Mr Biden said.
However, during other remarks, Biden accidentally referred to Ukraine as Iraq while discussing Russia’s invasion, the Harvard Crimson reported.
Mr Biden’s longtime senior adviser Mike Donilon was forced to jump in to correct him.
After his talk, Mr Biden later bit into a melting ice cream bar that dropped to the floor, according to the student newspaper.
TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY GOOD’ CHINA TARIFF DEAL; PRAISES ITALY’S PM
It comes as Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with China on tariffs, adding that he was confident the world’s largest economies could make a deal to end a bitter trade war.
“Yeah, we’re talking to China,” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I would say they have reached out a number of times.”
Mr Trump confirmed that the talks had happened since he upped tariffs on China to a whopping 145 per cent, after Beijing retaliated to his sweeping “Liberation Day” worldwide levies.
But Mr Trump was cagey when asked if he had spoken directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite having dropped several hints in the past that he has.
“I’ve never said whether or not they’ve happened,” he said when asked about talks with Xi. “It’s just not appropriate.”
Pressed by reporters whether Mr Xi had reached out to him, Mr Trump replied: “You’d think it was pretty obvious that he has, but we will talk about that soon.”
Mr Trump’s administration is locked in a war of sky-high reciprocal tariffs with superpower rival China that has unnerved world markets.
“I think we’re going to make a very good deal with China,” he said at the White House.
TRUMP HAILS ITALIAN PM ‘FANTASTIC’ DURING TARIFF TALKS
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited for talks aimed at ending US tariffs on the European Union.
Casting herself as the only European who can de-escalate Mr Trump’s trade war, Ms Meloni highlighted their conservative common ground and said she wanted to “make the West great again.”
“There will be a trade deal, 100 per cent,” Mr Trump said during her visit.
Ms Meloni said she was “sure” they could reach a deal.
The two leaders struck a warm tone during a working lunch and a meeting in the Oval Office, with Mr Trump hailing the 48-year-old Italian premier as “fantastic”.
Ms Meloni is the first leader from Europe to visit the Republican since he slapped 20 per cent tariffs on EU exports, which he has since suspended for 90 days.
The Italian leader said Mr Trump had accepted an invitation to visit Rome in the “near future” and that he might also meet European leaders there.
“Even if we have some problems between the two shores of the Atlantic, it is the time that we try to sit down and find solutions,” she said.
Ms Meloni highlighted their shared views on immigration and “woke” ideology and added: “The goal for me is to make the West great again, and I think we can do it together.”
ASIAN COUNTRIES LEAD NEGOTIATIONS
Asia’s major exporters Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan are among the first economies to open negotiations with Washington over Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, taking advantage of a 90-day reprieve from the global trade war.
Notably absent from those trying to reach a compromise with Washington is China, which faces levies of up to 145 per cent on many products and was not included in the tariff pause.
Vietnam rushed to open negotiations even before Mr Trump put tariffs on hold.
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc had already been in Washington for several days before the start of the pause, meeting US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Hanoi, threatened with additional import duties of 46 per cent, said it wanted to buy more US products, including defence equipment.
The Southeast Asian manufacturing powerhouse has the fourth-largest trade surplus with the United States, coming in at $US123bn ($A193bn) in 2024.
To reach a compromise, Hanoi may have to overcome Washington’s suspicion that Vietnam is helping China circumvent US tariffs.
Meanwhile, Japanese negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met President Trump, Mr Greer and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington without making any immediate progress.
A second meeting is scheduled for the end of April.
“The discussions ahead will not be easy, but the US president has expressed his willingness to give the highest priority to negotiations with Japan,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said, adding that he was ready to meet Trump himself.
A close ally of Washington and the leading source of foreign investment in the United States, Japan faces an additional 24 per cent tariff on its exports as well as an existing 25 per cent car tax.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said the island, which hopes to protect its exporters from tariffs of up to 35 per cent, was “on the US government’s first negotiation list”.
Around 60 per cent of Taiwan’s exports to the United States are tech products such as semiconductors, which have been spared tariffs up till now.
Under pressure, top Taiwanese chip maker TSMC has unveiled plans to invest a further $US100bn ($A157bn) in the United States.
“We will strive for a fair and competitive tariff for our industry,” Taiwan’s Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said this week.
South Korea is also counting on talks next week.
Kim Dae-jong, an economics expert at South Korea’s Sejong University, said Seoul would need to “expand trade centred on the US and reduce our reliance on exports to China”.
Indonesia’s Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto is leading a week-long trade delegation to the US.
Jakarta, which is threatened with 32 per cent duties, plans to boost purchases of US products such as hydrocarbons.
Thailand’s Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira is travelling to Washington, with Bangkok poised to commit to buying more US agricultural and energy products.
Bangkok has “strong offers” that Chunhavajira will raise during negotiations on April 23.
Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s deputy prime minister, said he spoke with Mr Greer, the US trade representative, to explain the city-state’s “unique status as a small open economy”.
“We just have to explain this and continue to explain this, and hopefully the US will better understand our situation,” Gan said. “We do have a trade deficit with the US.”
‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’: JUDGE LOOKS TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT
A US federal judge said he had found “probable cause” to hold Donald Trump’s administration in contempt in a deportation case, raising the stakes in the White House’s confrontation with the American justice system.
The ruling refers to District Judge James Boasberg’s temporary restraining order of March 15 to halt deportations carried out under an obscure wartime law, the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
That order was issued as the government was flying more than 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, where those expelled were incarcerated in a maximum-security prison.
In a written opinion, District Judge Boasberg cited evidence that the government had engaged in “deliberate or reckless disregard” of his order.
“Defendants … deliberately flouted this Court’s written Order and, separately, its oral command that explicitly delineated what compliance entailed,” he wrote.
The administration’s actions were “sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt,” Judge Boasberg wrote.
The judge said the government would be offered a final chance to “purge such contempt” or face further court action.
Lawyers for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not gang members, had committed no crimes.
The administration is under fire over its admission that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland and married to a US citizen, was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador due to an “administrative error.”
A judge has ordered Mr Trump to “facilitate” his return, an order upheld by the Supreme Court.
Mr Trump has alleged that Abrego Garcia is “an MS-13 Gang Member and Foreign Terrorist from El Salvador,” while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that he was “engaged in human trafficking.”
CALIFORNIA TO SUE TRUMP OVER TARIFFS
California is set to sue the federal government over Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs, claiming the US president does not have the right to enact such damaging policies.
As the richest state in the union, and one of the country’s largest importers and exporters, California looks set to bear the brunt of the economic damage forecasters expect from recent gyrations.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom – a long-time foe of Mr Trump’s and widely expected to be considering a 2028 presidential bid – will announce a lawsuit against the Republican administration, a statement said.
“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy – driving up prices and threatening jobs,” Mr Newsom said in a statement.
“We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”
The case is the latest of more than a dozen lawsuits that California has filed against the Trump administration.
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Originally published as Trump warns US will walk away from Ukraine-Russia peace talks unless there is ‘rapid progress’