Washington - Saba:
US President Donald Trump said Thursday morning that the road to resolving the conflict in Ukraine is still long.
"It's still a long way to go," Trump said during press remarks at the White House, noting that a peace agreement on Ukraine may be imminent, but stressing that intensive negotiations are needed to conclude any agreement. Trump added regarding his commitment to the previously announced ten-day deadline: "We're very close to that now, but we're having very serious talks about getting out of Ukraine, settling the situation, and ending it, which should never have started."
In response to a question about the timing of a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine, the US president added: "I don't want to talk about that. I've been disappointed with that in the past."
Regarding his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said there was a strong possibility of a meeting "very soon," explaining: "There's a good chance it will happen very soon."
Trump added that details of the meeting had not yet been determined, saying: "We haven't decided on a location yet, but the conversation with President Putin was very good. There's a high probability we'll finish the round and move on."
Trump emphasized that he felt a "moral obligation" to help end the war, explaining: "There are no American soldiers there, but I feel it's my duty to end this conflict. This is not our war, but it's in everyone's interest for it to stop." In response to a question about his special envoy, Steve Witkoff,'s visit to Moscow, Trump considered it not yet a diplomatic breakthrough, saying, "I can't call it an achievement at this point."
Trump indicated that the road to a settlement in Ukraine is still long. He also responded to a question about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia, saying, "There are serious discussions underway about resolving the situation around Ukraine."
Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the Kremlin on Wednesday was very productive.
He added that he "updated some European allies after the meeting and emphasized the agreement of all parties on the need to end the conflict."
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with the US President's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the Kremlin on Wednesday, which lasted for more than three hours.
| more of (International) |