United States President Donald Trump has called upon Russian President Vladimir Putin to "make a deal" with Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict, which he termed a “ridiculous war.”
Trump expressed his readiness to meet Putin at the earliest and warned of stringent tariffs and sanctions if the war persists.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump remarked, "I think he (Putin) should make a deal."
When questioned whether sanctions might compel Putin to negotiate, he replied, "I don't know. Russia should want to make a deal. Maybe they want to make a deal. I think, from what I hear, Putin would like to see me. And we'll meet as soon as we can. I'd meet immediately. Soldiers are being killed on the battlefield."
Highlighting the human cost of the war, Trump stated, "That battlefield is like no battlefield since World War II... and I have pictures that you don't want to see. Soldiers are being killed on a daily basis at numbers that we haven't seen in decades. It would be nice to end that war. It's a ridiculous war."
Trump, who assumed office as the 47th President of the United States on 20 January, took to Truth Social, a social media platform he owns, to urge Putin to cease hostilities.
In his post, he cited his previously amicable relationship with Putin but emphasised that it was time to bring the war to a halt.
Addressing reporters, Trump also mentioned Ukraine’s willingness to negotiate.
"He's (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) ready to negotiate a deal. He'd like to stop. He's somebody that lost a lot of soldiers. So did Russia. Russia lost more soldiers, they lost 8,00,000 soldiers," Trump added.
He warned Putin that failure to reach a ceasefire deal soon would leave him with “no other choice” but to impose tariffs, taxes, and sanctions on “anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
Trump’s remarks come amid intensifying calls from global leaders for an end to the conflict, which has claimed numerous lives and caused immense devastation in Ukraine.
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