US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a resolution to the war in Ukraine is “closer than people realise”, adding that the issue will be discussed during meetings at the NATO summit.
Trump is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit in Ankara, with a US official saying the talks aim to give fresh momentum to efforts to end the war.
The US president made the remarks following separate phone calls over the weekend with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, although he did not provide further details.
"This is one that I think we're getting much closer than people realise. And President Putin wants it to end. I will tell you that very strongly," Trump told reporters from the Oval Office, describing his 4 July call with the Russian leader as “good”. According to the Kremlin, the conversation lasted 85 minutes and included a US offer to help find a path towards peace.
“And President Zelensky actually wants it to end now. And we’re going to be going to NATO, and we’re going to be talking about it and I think we’re going to get it ended,” Trump said. “It’s been a terrible situation.”
A US official added that Trump could hold another conversation with Putin after his meeting with Zelensky.
'Trump consistent in views'
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Russian and US presidents agreed to continue contacts “in the near future”, adding that Washington’s position on the conflict appears unchanged.
“President Trump has a fairly consistent stance. Claims that he changes his views like a weather vane are, of course, untrue,” Peskov said, noting that the US president is open to hearing information conveyed by Putin.
Zelensky, in an interview with the Financial Times, also described his weekend call with Trump as “very good” and suggested that the US president now views the war in a different light following Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes.
He said Trump had praised Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign targeting Russia’s oil sector, which has contributed to fuel shortages in the country.
Asked whether this would translate into stronger US support, Zelensky said he believes Trump “wants to be where success is”.
“This relates to many things, not only to his personality, but also to the approaching US midterm elections, to his status and to his belief in how this war can be ended,” he added.
Source: AMNA
