President Trump mentioned Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to stop fighting” and shot down a proposal that Putin’s ambitions may just prolong past Ukraine’s borders.
“I think he wants to stop fighting. I see that. We spoke long and hard. [Middle East envoy] Steve Witkoff was with him for a very extended period, like about three hours. I think he wants to stop fighting,” Trump informed journalists on Sunday when requested what he thinks Putin needs.
“They have a big, powerful machine. You understand that,” Trump persisted. “And they defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. You know, they’ve been fighting a long time. They’ve done it before … but I think he would like to stop fighting.”
The remarks come because the Trump management seeks to barter an finish to the Russia-Ukraine warfare, which started just about 3 years in the past when Putin led an unprovoked invasion into its neighbor, Ukraine.
Requested about Putin’s territorial ambitions — and whether or not he thinks Putin needs the entire of Ukraine’s land — Trump mentioned he requested Putin the similar query.
“I think he wants to stop. That was my question to him. Because if he’s going to go on, that would have been a big problem for us, and that would have caused me a big problem, because you just can’t let that happen,” Trump mentioned.
“I think he wants to end it. And they want to end it fast. Both of them,” Trump persisted, noting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “wants to end it too.”
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC Information’s “Meet the Press,” Zelensky informed host Kristen Welker that, when he ultimate talked to Trump, the Ukrainian president suggested Trump towards trusting Putin when he says he needs peace. Zelensky mentioned he informed Trump that Putin is “a liar” and is “a little bit scared” of Trump.
“And I think the president has this chance, and he’s strong,” Zelensky mentioned of Trump. “And I think that really he can push Putin to peace negotiations. Yes, I think so. I think he can, but don’t trust him. Don’t trust Putin. Don’t trust just words about ceasefire.”
Zelensky additionally mentioned within the interview that “we believe that Putin will wage war against NATO,” including, “we have intelligence, we have documents that they are preparing trained mission of a big number of soldiers on the territory of Belarus.” He mentioned he worries there’s a chance that Putin will goal Poland and Lithuania subsequent.
Requested about Zelensky’s caution about Putin’s attainable warfare towards NATO, Trump mentioned, “No, I don’t agree. I don’t agree. Not even a little bit.”
