Trump confirms preparations for Putin meeting, says he still has ‘half a day’ to end Ukraine war
On January 20, shortly after his inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
“He should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” Trump said during a briefing with reporters in the Oval Office. “Most people thought that war would have been over in one week. I think he’d be very well off to end that war.”
Trump said he plans to meet with Putin as soon as talks are organized, according to CNN. He added that he could speak with Putin soon but did not provide a specific timeline. “I got along with [Putin] great. I would hope he wants to make a deal,” Trump said.
Trump also remarked that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had expressed a desire to reach a peace agreement to end the conflict.
Throughout his campaign, Trump had pledged to end the war within 24 hours of taking office. When asked on January 20 if he could still meet that deadline, Trump joked that he had “half a day” left to achieve it. He made the comment in Washington around 8 p.m. local time, according to RBC.
“We’re going to try and get it done as quickly as possible. You know, the war with Ukraine and Russia should have never started,” Trump said.
