President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that he’s made “progress” toward brokering a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia — while blaming retiring President Biden for unleashing the recent North Korean intervention in the war.
“We’ve got a little progress. It’s a tough one. It’s a nasty one,” Trump, 78, said during a 70-minute press conference in Palm Beach, Fla.
Trump, who as a candidate said he could resolve the nearly three-year war before taking office on Jan. 20, sounded less optimistic — saying he saw the issue as “more difficult” to resolve than long-running conflicts in the Middle East.
“I think the Middle East will be in a good place. I think actually more difficult is going to be the Russia-Ukraine situation. I see that as more difficult,” he said.
The incoming president added that he would still try to secure a deal by the time he returns to the White House.
Trump declined to comment on his post-election reported communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin — but faulted Biden, 82, for escalating the conflict in his final days in office by allowing US missiles to be launched far inside of Russia.
“I don’t think they should have allowed missiles to be shot 200 miles into Russia. I think that was a bad thing and that brought the Koreans in — North Korea, another man I get along with very well. I’m the only one that does. But that did a lot of bad things,” he went on.
“I don’t think that should have been allowed… certainly not just weeks before I take over. Why would they do that without asking me what I thought? I wouldn’t have had them do that. I think it was a big mistake they made.”
Asked by a reporter if he would reverse that order, Trump said: “I might, yeah. I thought it was a very stupid thing to do.”
North Korean troops joined the conflict last month to support Russian efforts to retake parts of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian troops seized earlier in the year in a surprise counter-attack to improve Kyiv’s bargaining position.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with Trump on Dec. 7 in Paris, has since the Nov. 5 election expressed a willingness to cede territory to Russia to end the war.
