President Trump on Sunday said he believes “we have the makings of a deal” on the Ukraine-Russia war and that it could “move very rapidly,’’ before huddling with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
The US president warned that “millions’’ more people will be killed if no deal is struck.
“I do believe that we have the makings of a deal. It’s good for Ukraine, good for everybody. It’s very important,” Trump told reporters while standing next to Zelensky outside the entrance to the main dining room of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the pair met Sunday.
“There’s nothing more important,’’ Trump said. “I solved eight wars, and this is the most difficult one.”
If the war continues, “millions of additional people will be killed, millions, and no one wants that,’’ Trump said.
But he also waved off any specific time frame for finishing that deal.
“Pretty complex but not that complex,’’ Trump said of negotiations. Still, “No deadlines. “You know what my deadline is, getting the war ended.”
But Trump said he is optimistic that the peace process will “move very rapidly” after he and Zelensky discussed some of the sticking points of the 20-point peace plan that both their teams have crafted.
Trump added he would be phoning Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin about the plan, as well as top European leaders.
Here is the latest on the Russia-Ukraine conflict
- Putin warns that Russia will extend Ukraine invasion if peace talks fail
- Zelensky thinks US would tighten screws on Russia if Moscow rejects Trump’s peace plan
- US close to strongest ever Ukraine security guarantees in Russia peace deal that won’t ‘be on the table forever’: officials
- Zelensky hints Ukraine ready to make this major concession to end war
- Kushner, Witkoff travel to Germany for pivotal talks with Zelensky, European leaders in search of Ukraine peace deal
The president spoke with Putin ahead of his meeting with Zelensky.
This is the first in-person meeting Trump and Zelensky have had since Oct. 17.
“This gentleman has worked very hard,’’ he said of Zelensky, who he has previously very publicly sparred with.
“He’s very brave, and his people are very brave, but what they’ve gone through, no nation, very rarely, has a nation ever gone through this.”
