Trump says peace deal depends on Zelensky
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that a potential agreement to end the war allegedly depends on President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said this in a Fox News interview following his Friday meeting in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to CBS News and The Guardian.
"Now it's really up to President Zelensky to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it's up to President Zelensky. I think we are, and if they like, I'll be at that next meeting," Trump said.
When asked for his message to Zelensky, the president responded, "Make a deal."
"It's not a done deal at all," Trump said. "And Ukraine has to agree. President Zelensky has to agree."
Trump said he and Putin agreed on most things, but there are still one or two issues on which they disagree. Asked if he will say what those disagreements are, Trump responded, "No, I'd rather not."
He again repeated his claim that the United States had provided Ukraine with $350 billion in defense support, compared to Europe's $100 billion.
"Wars are very bad, I seem to have an ability to end them," Trump said.
Trump repeated his claim that he "always had a great relationship with President Putin," but cooperation between the United States and Russia was made impossible by the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which he refers to as a "hoax."
He then said that he did have a chance to speak privately to Putin, after their brief, 12-minute news conference. Putin "spoke very sincerely," Trump said about his desire to end the war in Ukraine.
However, Trump did not mention that the war began with Putin's decision to seize Ukrainian territory in 2014, after his ally was deposed as president of Ukraine in a popular uprising. It then intensified in 2022 when Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Asked to rate the meeting on a scale of one to 10, Trump replied that it was "a 10" because it showed that the leaders of the two nuclear-armed nations could cooperate.
"It's good when two big powers get along," Trump said.
Trump also welcomed Putin's comment that the war would not have happened if Trump had been in office in 2022.
Photo: The White House