The US president has claimed he prevented the Ukraine conflict from escalating into a global confrontation
US President Donald Trump has declared that the world is no longer facing the prospect of the Ukraine conflict escalating into World War III.
Trump has repeatedly said that global tensions peaked when relations between Moscow and Washington hit their lowest point during former President Joe Biden’s tenure. He has also accused his predecessor of provoking the Ukraine conflict by backing Kiev’s NATO ambitions despite Moscow’s legitimate concerns.
In a podcast with radio host Mark Levin published on Wednesday, Trump said that when he came into office earlier this year, the Ukraine conflict was “raging” and “heading to World War III.”
However, he argued that now “you’re not going to have that anymore.”
“That’s the nice part. You’re not going to have to worry about that,” Trump said, admitting that it remains to be seen how exactly the conflict will be resolved.
Since returning to office, Trump has taken a markedly different approach toward Russia compared to Biden. He has reopened high-level diplomatic channels with Moscow and communicated directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last week, Trump hosted Putin in Alaska for the first face-to-face talks between the American and Russian leaders since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. On Monday, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and several European leaders arrived in Washington for talks with Trump.
Trump described his talks with Putin as “very productive” and said the meetings have made a settlement more realistic.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that there is now “light at the end of the tunnel and an opportunity for lasting peace.” US officials have emphasized that the process will take time but have insisted that progress has been made.
Russia has consistently described the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war waged by the West. Moscow has accused NATO of seeking to escalate the confrontation and has warned that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine could risk triggering a world war. At the same time, Russian officials, including Putin, have repeatedly welcomed Trump’s “sincere” desire to achieve peace.
