WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was optimistic in his update to America on Russia-Ukraine talks, shortly after speaking with a number of European leaders about the matter.
Trump shared the latest on efforts to bring the war to a close at the top of a Mexican Border Defense Medal Presentation in the Oval Office.
“We had a very good conversation one hour ago with the European leaders, many of them, involving the war with Russia and Ukraine,” the president said. “We had a long discussion, and things are seemingly going well, but we’ve been saying that for a long time, and it’s a difficult one.”
“I had a long talk with President Zelensky. Also, I spoke with the heads of Germany, Italy, NATO, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. We had very long and very good talks. And again, I think things are going along pretty well,” he went on to add, after speaking positively of “security protocols yesterday” between the two countries.
Trump, who said the war should never have begun, calling it “Biden’s situation,” believes that the nearly four-year-long conflict is closer to ending now than it has ever been. Three weeks ago, he noted that his team had made “tremendous progress” toward a resolution.
“I think we’re closer now, and they will tell you that they’re closer now. We had numerous conversations with President Putin of Russia, and I think we’re closer now than we have been ever, and we’ll see what we can do,” he stated Monday.
“We want to save a lot of lives. We sell equipment to NATO. We don’t spend any money, but we do want to see if we can save a lot of lives,” he continued. “When you’re losing 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers, mostly soldiers, other people too, from… places like Kyiv, various other places throughout Ukraine, it’s pretty bad.”
Trump said the death toll from the war has been unseen since World War II. He also stressed the importance of getting both sides “on the same page.”
“At this moment, Russia wants to get it ended. The problem is they’ll want to get it ended, and then all of a sudden they won’t, and Ukraine will want to get it ended, and all of a sudden they won’t. So we have to get them on the same page, but I think that’s working along,” he detailed.
Trump has settled eight wars or conflicts since returning to office; an end to fighting between Russia and Ukraine would mark the ninth. He reached the historic Middle East peace deal, while also ending conflicts between Israel and Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, Egypt and Ethiopia, Pakistan and India, and Cambodia and Thailand.
He noted Monday that his administration “straighten[ed] out” a regression with Cambodia and Thailand in recent days.
He also prevented what could have led to a potential escalation between Serbia and Kosovo, per Turkish media.
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