United States President Donald Trump has claimed that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are prepared to agree on a ceasefire deal facilitated by Washington.
Trump, who returned to office on 20 January this year, has been pursuing diplomatic efforts to end hostilities between Russia and Ukraine since February.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday evening, the President said, “I think he’s ready to make a deal. And I think that President [Vladimir] Putin is ready to make a deal,” referring to his communications with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Although he did not elaborate on the specifics of any future meeting, Trump added that Washington was engaged in “a lot of good conversations about Ukraine and Russia.”
“We like to see the conflict stopped as soon as possible because thousands of people have been killed in a week,” the President noted. “Europe has not been successful in dealing with President Putin, but I think I will be successful.”
Trump’s remarks coincided with the arrival of Putin’s investment envoy, Kiril Dmitriev, in Washington, where he reportedly met Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East.
Dmitriev told reporters on Thursday evening that the talks mainly centred on measures to normalise US-Russia relations, which had been suspended since the imposition of sanctions by the Biden administration in 2022.
“There’s a positive dynamic,” Dmitriev observed, adding that further meetings would be necessary to address outstanding disagreements.
Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv are expected to begin after both parties implement a freeze on hostilities. However, tensions continue on the ground, with each side accusing the other of violating ceasefire conditions.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces had targeted energy infrastructure, including fuel depots, gas facilities, and electrical grids, despite agreeing to a 30-day suspension of such assaults. Ukrainian officials, in turn, accused Moscow of breaching the same terms.
The Kremlin maintains that any lasting peace arrangement must address what it calls the “root causes” of the conflict.
It has reiterated demands that Kyiv drop its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and recognise Crimea, along with four other occupied regions, as Russian territory.
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