WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made one “pretty big concession” in Ukraine peace talks: “Stopping taking the whole country.”
Trump confidently predicted that there would be major progress toward ending Europe’s bloodiest war in eight decades within “two weeks” during an Oval Office event with visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
“I think we are going to get this over with,” he said. “We’re getting very close.”
The president insisted he had “no allegiance” in the war aside from wanting to end conflict-related deaths — while putting some of the blame for slow-developing peace talks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“It takes two to tango, and you have to have Ukraine want to make a deal too,” Trump contended before bristling at the notion he wasn’t putting more pressure on Putin.
“You don’t know what pressure I’m putting on Russia,” Trump reprimanded. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia … or he wouldn’t be talking right now.
Trump also admitted that Ukraine may have to relinquish claims to some of its Russian-occupied eastern territory — repeating similar remarks he’s made in the past.
“It depends what territory,” he said. “We’ll do the best we can, but they lost a lot of territory.”
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters “I have my own deadline” for ending Russia’s 38-month-old war on Ukraine — expressing tepid hope for keeping his peace drive alive after the White House suggested this week that it would wash its hands of the conflict.
“I hope we’re gonna get there for the sake of a lot of young people that are dying,” Trump told reporters. “I have my own deadline. I have my own deadline, and we want it to be fast.”
Here is the latest on the Russia-Ukraine conflict
On Thursday morning, Trump fired off a frustrated Truth Social post telling Putin to “STOP” firing missiles into Kyiv, after the largest missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital in nearly a year killed at least 12 people and injured at least 90 more.
Despite the lack of progress in peace talks so far, the president said Thursday that “I do” believe Putin will listen to him.
“I think they both want to make peace, I do believe so,” Trump added, apparently referring to Putin and Zelensky. The president hasn’t given a specific date for when he would walk away from talks, but has expressed frustration with both sides — though Zelensky has taken the brunt of his criticism.
On Wednesday, Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Zelensky for telling reporters Kyiv would never recognize Crimea as Russian territory, a key point in Washington’s peace plan.
“In order to make a good deal, both sides have to walk away a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt said, “and unfortunately, President Zelensky has been trying to litigate this peace negotiation in the press, and that’s unacceptable to the president.”
Also Wednesday, Trump said Zelensky should accept “peace,” before warning that “he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”
Trump also claimed Russia is “ready” for a deal, while questioning Zelensky’s readiness for the same, despite Ukraine signing on to a partial cease-fire deal weeks ago.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have both indicated this week that the time for a US-brokered peace deal to take effect was now or never.
“We’ve done our best. We’ve put a lot of time and energy at the highest levels of our government,” Rubio told the “Honestly with Bari Weiss” podcast in an interview released Wednesday.
“We’ll continue to be willing to do so as long as there’s a realistic path forward. If at some point we determine that we’re just too far apart and not enough movement is happening, we may need to move on to other priorities because there are a lot of important things happening in the world.”
