The journalist asked Trump whether he still sees a chance for a ceasefire in Ukraine and what the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin is asking for.
The US President answered in the affirmative. He noted that the Russian war against Ukraine is “a brutal war,” but it does not “really” affect the United States.
“We're not losing soldiers there. It could have ended – it won't – but it could have ended in World War III. It's really gotten out of control. Now they're shooting and killing people. And I think Putin wants it to end, and I think that [президент Украины Владимир] Zelensky wants this to end. And I think it will end,” Trump said.
Context
On October 17, after a meeting with Zelensky at the White House, Trump called on Ukraine and the Russian Federation to conclude a peace agreement and “stop where they are.” Zelensky agreed with this.
On October 19, Trump repeated this at a briefing, proposing to “stop at the front line, where the battle line is.”
The Kremlin called Trump's proposal a “newspaper report.” According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, calls for a truce right now, without eliminating the “root causes of the Ukrainian conflict” (as he calls the Russian war against Ukraine), allegedly contradict what Putin and Trump agreed on at a meeting in Alaska.
Russia has long called for addressing the “root causes” of the war against Ukraine, arguing that its growing integration with Europe and desire to join NATO pose an existential threat to Moscow, Politico pointed out.
On October 21, the White House said that a meeting between Trump and Putin (in Budapest), as previously announced by the US President, was not planned “in the near future.” Trump clarified on the same day that “no decision has been made yet.”
Bloomberg wrote on October 21 that Ukraine is developing a 12-point plan with Europe to end the war with the Russian Federation. It, among other things, includes a ceasefire, a stop to territorial advances, the return of all children deported by the Russian Federation to Ukraine, the exchange of prisoners, security guarantees for Ukraine, the possibility of rapid accession of Ukraine to the EU, and the gradual lifting of sanctions against the Russian Federation. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will present this plan to Trump on October 22, the media wrote.
On October 21, the US President said that his administration had already been able to resolve eight wars and the settlement of the ninth was “on the way.”
