U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the key issue regarding the Ukraine war is not the level of pressure the United States applies on the European Union and NATO, but the fact that member countries continue to buy Russian oil.
“I don’t want them buying Russian oil; they must stop immediately. It’s unfair to us that they buy Russian oil while we have to take care of things,” Trump told reporters ahead of his trip to the United Kingdom, according to Reuters.
Trump emphasized his support for Ukraine while acknowledging that the country is in serious trouble.
“This war should never have happened. The country is in very serious distress, but I will stop it. I’ve stopped seven wars in the past eight months. I thought this one would be easy because I know (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, but it isn’t. There is a lot of hatred between (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky and Putin. But we will stop it,” he said.
Trump noted that Zelensky will need to reach an agreement to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but stressed that “it takes two to tango”, referring to the conflict between the two leaders.
“These are two people, Zelensky and Putin, who hate each other, but it seems I have to sit in the room with them because they cannot resolve it alone. There is a lot of hatred there,” Trump added, highlighting that significant progress was made during his meeting with Putin in Alaska last month.
