President Donald Trump outlined his plans to end the Russo-Ukrainian War during a press gaggle on Sunday, expressing confidence that the leaders of both nations
“want to stop fighting.” Speaking on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump stated that he is actively working on “trying to get peace with Russia, Ukraine.”
“And we’re working very hard on it,” he said, as reported by Fox News. “It’s a war that should have never started.” When asked whether
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be involved in the conversations, Trump confirmed that he would be. “He will be involved, yes,” Trump said.
Trump also addressed the issue of American-made weapons designated for Ukraine, confirming that he would allow European nations to purchase them instead.
The Republican president stated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin—who initiated the conflict with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and escalated it with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022—now wants to bring the war to an end. “I think he wants to stop fighting,” Trump said.
“They have a big, powerful machine, you understand that? And they defeated Hitler, and they defeated Napoleon. You know, he’s been fighting a long time…I think he would like to stop fighting.” He added: “Zelenskyy wants to end it, too.”
Negotiations between the U.S. and Russia are set to begin in Saudi Arabia this week, though earlier reports indicated that Ukraine would not be directly involved. Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz, stated on Fox News Sunday that the talks will focus on “key tenets” aimed at securing a “permanent end to the war.”
“The United States and Europe have supported [the Ukrainian] effort, but the United States unquestionably has borne the brunt of that support over the years, but now President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end,” Waltz said Sunday. Trump’s remarks came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s interview on Meet the Press aired on NBC, where Zelenskyy discussed Putin and claimed that the Russian leader “fears” Trump.
