"I decide on sanctions against Russia and no one else. That will be my decision".
This is how US President Donald Trump responded to the calls of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for tightening sanctions against Russia.
"Only I make decisions of this kind", Trump told reporters at the White House.
"We'll see how Russia behaves. We'll see what happens", Trump said.
He praised the phone calls he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several European leaders.
„I think we had very good conversations on May 19", Trump said. "We are at a very critical moment. I spoke with President Putin yesterday for two and a half hours. I also spoke with all, or rather many, of the European leaders. They represented the entire European Union," the head of the administration in Washington added.