Trump: We have deal with Russia, now we need deal with Zelenskyy

Speaking to journalists, US President Donald Trump has said that Russia is supposedly ready to conclude a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, he noted that reaching an agreement with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had proved more difficult than he had expected.

Source: Trump in the Oval Office

Details: Trump said that he believes Russia is ready for negotiations. However, he believes it is difficult to find a common language with the Ukrainian president to achieve a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine.

Quote: "I will say that I think Russia is ready, and a lot of people said Russia wanted to go for the whole thing. I think we have a deal with Russia, we have to get a deal with Zelenskyy. And I hope that Zelenskyy… I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy but so far it’s been harder. But that’s okay, it’s alright. But I think we have a deal with both. I hope they do it because we spend a lot of money. But this is about a lot of humanity."

Details: Trump has once again criticised the Joe Biden administration for its large-scale spending to support Ukraine.

"We are spending hundreds of billions of dollars through Biden. Biden should have never let that war happen. We’re spending hundreds of billions, maybe US$350 billion we’ve given to Ukraine, and we could use that money right here," he said.

Background:

• US President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's position on non-recognition of Crimea as Russian is detrimental to peace talks.
• Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States had a better understanding of Russia's position on its war against Ukraine because "we finally talked to them after three years of silence".
• It was reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump handed over a one-page document to Ukraine last week in Paris, which was presented as a "final proposal" for a peaceful settlement, and the main points of this proposal are outlined here.
• Among other things, the US is ready to recognise Russia's control over Ukrainian Crimea and ease sanctions against Moscow as part of a potential peace deal.

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