WASHINGTON/MOSCOW: Zelensky wants to make a deal, Trump said, adding that he does not know whether Putin wants one. The Russian president spoke of his readiness to compromise
US President Donald Trump commented on his promise to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict within 24 hours of taking office. The broadcast is being conducted on YouTube.
"It's only been half a day. I have another half a day. We'll see. We want to make it," Trump said.
He said that he plans to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "We're going to try to do it as quickly as possible," the US president added. Speaking about the possible timing of the conflict's end, Trump said: "I have to talk to President Putin, we're going to figure it out."
"Zelensky wants to make a deal. I don't know if Putin wants it. He may not. He has to make a deal <...>. I think Russia is going to be in big trouble. Look at their economy, look at their inflation," Trump said.
When asked about maintaining sanctions against Russia, he said that he prefers tariffs. Trump also said that NATO countries should spend 5% of GDP on defense and called it “ridiculous” that the United States spent “$200 billion more” on supporting Ukraine than other countries in the alliance; these figures should be equalized.
The Russian and Ukrainian sides have expressed their readiness for negotiations, but they have different demands for this. Moscow primarily wants to achieve neutral and non-aligned status for Ukraine, as well as its official renunciation of Crimea, Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. Kyiv insists on partial accession to NATO and receiving security guarantees, and refuses to recognize the loss of territories.
“We see statements by the newly elected US president and members of his team about the desire to restore direct contacts with Russia, interrupted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration,” Putin said the day before. He has repeatedly expressed confidence in Russia’s victory and expressed readiness for compromises in resolving the conflict.
On Monday, January 20, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that resolving the conflict would be Trump's top priority, "it will happen almost immediately." "In fact, some of it has already begun. Hopefully, some of the groundwork has already been laid, but it will be difficult," he said.
In October 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted the National Security and Defense Council's decision to refuse negotiations with Russia while Vladimir Putin is in charge. In January, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said that this provision remains in force. "As of now, such a modality has not been considered. Let's wait for official contacts with the US, where we will discuss further steps," Sybiga said when asked about the possibility of negotiations.
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