Trump Says Putin May Not Want a Deal on Ukraine

RKS NEWS
RKS NEWS 2 Min Read
2 Min Read

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will take steps toward ending the war in Ukraine, but he acknowledged that the Russian leader may not want to make any deal at all.

According to Trump, the absence of an agreement would create a “difficult situation” for Putin.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he expects Putin to clarify his intentions in the coming weeks.

He once again ruled out the deployment of U.S. troops on Ukrainian soil and did not provide details about the security guarantees he previously mentioned Washington might offer Kyiv as part of any post-war agreement.

“I don’t think it will be a hassle [to reach a peace deal], to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think everyone is tired, but you never know,” Trump said.

“We will see what President Putin does in the next few weeks … It’s possible he may not want to make a deal at all,” he added. Earlier, Trump threatened additional sanctions against Russia and countries buying its oil if Putin does not act toward peace.

Ukraine and its European allies were encouraged by Trump’s promise of security guarantees during an extraordinary summit on Monday, but many questions remain unanswered, including how willing Russia is to participate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Monday’s White House meeting with the U.S. president a “major step forward” toward ending Europe’s deadliest conflict in 80 years and toward organizing a trilateral meeting with Putin and Trump in the coming weeks.

Zelensky was accompanied at the summit by leaders from allied countries, including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.