Trump suggested that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take decisive steps to bring the war to a close....CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.>>
Trump hints at major steps with Putin to end Ukraine conflict Photograph: (Reuters )
US President Donald Trump revealed on Friday (Jan 31) that his administration has engaged in “very serious” discussions with Russia regarding its ongoing war in Ukraine.
In remarks made during an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump suggested that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take decisive steps to bring the war to a close.
“We will be speaking, and I think we’ll perhaps do something that’ll be significant,” Trump said. “We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.”
While Trump did not specify who from his administration had been in contact with Russian officials, he emphasised that the two sides were already in communication. When asked directly if he had spoken to Putin himself, Trump offered a cryptic response, saying, “I don’t want to say that.”
Putin’s praise for Trump
In a recent interview with Russian state television, President Vladimir Putin praised Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” who prioritises US interests. Putin also suggested that had Trump been president during the lead-up to the 2022 invasion, the crisis in Ukraine could have been avoided.
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current US president,” Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”
Trump’s position on Ukraine and Putin
Throughout his campaign and afterwards, Trump has repeatedly stated that he believes the war in Ukraine would never have occurred if he were still in office. This assertion is despite his tenure as president during the buildup of conflict in eastern Ukraine, where fighting escalated between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists prior to Putin’s 2022 invasion.
Trump has also criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not reaching a deal with Putin to prevent the conflict.
