President of the United States Donald Trump said he was unsure whether he could end Russia's war against Ukraine. The statement contrasts sharply with his previous promises to quickly end the conflict, writes Politico.
"I don't know. I can't tell you whether it's going to happen or not," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if he was confident he could bring about a cessation of hostilities.
When asked if ending the war was a priority, the president replied:"Yes. I would like that to happen."
Trump's campaign promise
During the election campaign, he promised to end hostilities between the two countries on his first day in office -"within 24 hours." The American leader later backed away from this statement, calling the promise"an exaggeration."
"We have helped a lot of countries. The situation in Ukraine is Biden's business, not Trump's. I'm trying to see it through," Trump said.
He initially tried to mediate a peace agreement between the two countries, but soon threatened to withdraw from the conflict altogether amid growing disillusionment with the ongoing fighting.
Trump's latest actions
He spoke by phone this week with Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. His call to Putin, he said, “did not yield any results,” hours after the conversation.
The conversation with Zelensky, judging by the Ukrainian president's message and Trump's subsequent comments to reporters, turned out to be more productive. According to Zelensky, they had a"very important and fruitful conversation" during which they discussed the Ukrainian air defense system, joint weapons production, as well as"mutual purchases and investments."
Trump told reporters: "We had a very good conversation, I think it was strategically important. I've said before that I'm very unhappy with my conversation with President Putin. He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people - that's unacceptable."
Other news about Donald Trump
UNIAN previously reported that, commenting on the conversation with Putin, the American leader stated that he acts more harshly against Russia , than against Iran and other adversaries."You know, he [Putin] managed to somehow cope with them [sanctions]. But these were Biden's sanctions, and mine are quite tough. It is quite possible that they will still be imposed in the future," he added.
At the same time, his favorite newspaper, the New York Post called for arming Kyiv"After your call [for peace], he [Putin] launched the largest drone and missile strike [on Ukraine] of the entire war. So why, Mr. President, is your administration punishing Ukraine?" the journalists write.
