US President Donald Trump said on January 31 that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could be talking very soon and announcing something significant to end the conflict in Ukraine.
“We’re going to talk, and I think we’re going to do something significant,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We want to end that war.”
According to Trump, his administration has already had “very serious discussions about the war in question” and about efforts to end it.
“It’s a pointless situation and it has to end.”
Trump did not say who in his administration has been in contact with the Russians, but he insisted that the two sides are “just talking.” He did not say whether he was personally involved in the discussions.
Trump said last week that he would like to meet with Putin as soon as possible to end the war.
He said that based on what he has heard, Putin would also like to meet him.
“Every day that we don’t meet, soldiers are being killed on the battlefield,” he said on January 23.
Keith Kellogg, a retired U.S. general who is leading the talks to end the war, said at a news conference on January 7 that preparations are underway for talks between Trump and Putin.
He said it was possible that Trump would be able to talk to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump said on the campaign trail that he would end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. He now hopes to end the war within six months.
During the campaign, Trump said that Russia would never invade Ukraine if he were president, a claim he repeated on January 31.
Trump is critical of Washington’s aid to Kiev, and has said Ukraine should have made concessions before the war began nearly three years ago.
In a recent interview with Russian state television, Putin praised Trump as a “wise and pragmatic man” who is focused on American interests.
“We have always had business-style, pragmatic, but also trusting relations with the current American president,” Putin said.
The Russian president has ruled out direct peace talks with Zelensky. Putin has said he does not consider Zelensky to be Ukraine’s legitimate leader.
Elections in Ukraine were due to be held on March 31, 2024, but have been postponed because the country is still in a state of war due to the conflict.
