US president’s remarks follow report saying he encouraged Kyiv to step up strikes inside Russian territory.

United States President Donald Trump has said Ukraine should not target Moscow after he reportedly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Kyiv could strike the Russian capital if he provided long-range weaponry.

Trump made the comments after The Financial Times on Tuesday reported that the US president had encouraged Zelenskyy to step up strikes deep inside Russian territory during their phone call on July 4.

The report, which cited two unnamed people familiar with the discussion, said Trump had also asked his Ukrainian counterpart whether he could hit Moscow and St Petersburg if supplied with weapons with enough range.

In response to a question on Tuesday about whether Zelenskyy should target Moscow, Trump told reporters at the White House that he should not.

Trump also told reporters that “we’re not looking” at providing Kyiv with longer-range missiles.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm the discussion in a statement provided to multiple media outlets, but said it had been taken out of context.

“President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing,” Leavitt said in the statement provided to outlets including ABC News and USA Today.

In a sharp pivot in his stance on the war, Trump on Monday announced that he would supply more weapons to Ukraine, and threatened to impose steep secondary tariffs on Russia’s trade partners if a peace deal is not reached within 50 days.

After returning to the White House in January, Trump repeatedly cast Washington’s support for Ukraine as a drain on the US and accused Zelenskyy of hindering efforts to make peace.

But the US president’s tone has shifted in recent weeks amid growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to negotiate an end to his invasion.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin said Trump’s recent statements, including the threat of sanctions, were “very serious” and that it would need time to assess the situation.

“We certainly need time to analyse what was said in Washington,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

“And if and when President Putin deems it necessary, he will definitely comment.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies