Ankara, July 7 (IANS) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed optimism that Russia and Ukraine could be moving closer to a peace agreement, saying he believes both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky now want to end the war after his latest conversations with the two leaders.
Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before their bilateral meeting in Ankara ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit, Trump said he had held lengthy discussions with both Putin and Zelensky and expected progress in the coming weeks.
“I do. I had a very good talk with President Putin, who, by the way, has a lot of respect for President Erdogan, a lot of respect for him,” Trump said when asked whether a breakthrough in the Ukraine peace process was possible.
“We had a long talk yesterday, lasted a long time. And, I also spoke with President Zelensky right after that.”
“I think they both want to make a deal. It’s too bad it took so long, but I think there’s going to be — something’s going to come out.”
Trump said Erdogan was also playing a constructive role in efforts to end the conflict.
“And the president’s also helping us with that, but I think there’s something.”
“You know, I settled eight wars and I think we’re going to be settling a ninth.”
Although he acknowledged that a settlement might not appear imminent, Trump said negotiations often advanced when expectations were lowest.
“It doesn’t seem likely now, but sometimes with war, see, when it’s least likely, that’s when it happens.”
“I had a very good talk with President Putin. I had a very good talk with — I would say, as a combination.”
“They both want to get it settled now… that’s all I do in my life, is deals. I know deals. And I think they are going to — I think we’re going to get it settled, hopefully soon.”
Trump again highlighted the human cost of the conflict, saying casualties continued to mount on both sides.
“Last month, 35,000, mostly soldiers, died. The month before that, it was 24,000. The month before that, it was 27,000. And the month before that, it was 29,000.”
“But last month, it was 35,000 young soldiers, mostly soldiers, died, and that’s crazy.”
Later, responding to another question, Trump said his objective was to stop the bloodshed rather than pursue a military solution.
“I just don’t want them killing people.”
“I’d like to save lives.”
“You have 25,000, 35,000, 30,000, one time it hit 41,000 a month, souls, they’re dead. They leave their mother in Ukraine, they leave their mother and father in Russia… and a week later, they’re dead.”
“It’s crazy.”
Trump said the United States was no longer providing military assistance in the same manner as under the previous administration.
“When Biden was here, he gave them hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of equipment. Now I sell the equipment… I sell it not to Ukraine; I sell it to the European Union. They pay us.”
He also described the conflict as a new kind of battlefield dominated by drones.
“It’s a drone war. It’s a war of drones. It’s a whole new technology.”
“I’ve seen the battlefields… It’s carnage, and it should stop.”
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, remains Europe’s largest armed conflict since the Second World War.
–IANS
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