Trump Expresses Optimism About Reaching a Deal To End Ukraine War, Says Negotiations Are in the ‘Final Stages’
The president says the Ukraine war is the ‘most difficult’ conflict to end.
President Trump is expressing optimism about the possibility of securing a deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But if a deal is not agreed upon soon, he says the war will go on for a “long time” and “millions” more will die.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting began, Mr. Trump said that he believes Mr. Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin want to reach a deal.
“I do believe that we have the makings of a deal. It’s good for Ukraine, good for everybody. It’s very important,” Mr. Trump said.
He called efforts to end the war “pretty complex.”
“I solved eight wars, and this is the most difficult one,” he said.
Shortly before the meeting, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that he had a “good and productive” call with the Russian president, who he said he would call again after the meeting with Mr. Zelensky.
American officials have expressed optimism that they are closing in on a deal. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held meetings with American and Russian negotiators over the weekend. An American official told Axios talks were “positive and constructive.”
“We’ve gone as far as possible with the Russians and the Ukrainians. We’ve made more progress in the last two weeks than [in] the last year. We want to push the ball into the goal. We’re heading in the right direction,” the official said.
While he sounded an optimistic note, Mr. Trump said he was not sure whether Sunday’s meeting would lead to a deal or whether an agreement would be reached before the end of the year.
“I don’t have deadlines. You know what my deadline is? Getting the war ended,” he told reporters.
He added that he believes officials are in the “final stages” of negotiations.
“We’re going to see, otherwise it’s going to go on for a long time. It’ll either end, or it’s going to go on for a long time,” Mr. Trump said. “And millions of additional people are going to be killed. And nobody wants that.”
The day before the meeting, Russia launched a wave of drone and missile strikes on Kyiv, killing two people and injuring at least 32 others.
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