The US president says he has “stopped” seven wars but the Ukraine conflict has proved tougher than expected
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is possible but would be hard to arrange because “they hate each other,” US President Donald Trump has said. He claimed that he would need to “intervene” to bring the two leaders together.
Trump met with Putin for a summit in Alaska last month, after which he pledged to prepare a meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday during a visit to the memorial of slain activist Charlie Kirk, Trump claimed the hatred between Putin and Zelensky was “unfathomable,” adding he believed he would “have to do all the talking.”
The US president also claimed to have “stopped seven wars,” and admitted he thought the Ukraine conflict would “be an easy one for me, but this has turned out to be tough.”
While no Putin-Zelensky meeting has been confirmed, Trump indicated that talks could take place “relatively soon,” without giving details on the potential format. “We’re going to get it worked out one way or the other,” he said. “So I’m going to have to get involved.”
Putin has said he is ready in principle to meet Zelensky and suggested the Ukrainian leader could travel to Moscow for negotiations. Kiev has rejected the idea, saying it would not accept “deliberately unacceptable proposals.”
At the same time, the Russian president has raised doubts about the legitimacy of Zelensky’s position and whether talks would be “meaningful.” Zelensky’s presidential term expired last May, but he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law.
Putin has also said reaching agreements with Kiev on key issues would be “practically impossible.” He has noted that even with political will there were “legal and technical difficulties” tied to territorial disputes. The remarks referred to Crimea and other regions that voted to join Russia in referendums in 2014 and 2022.
Moscow has repeatedly said it is ready for peace negotiations with Kiev if the “reality on the ground” is taken into account. It has also said it would agree to an immediate ceasefire if Ukraine withdrew its troops from the new Russian regions or halted mobilization and Western arms deliveries.
