— He assured me today that they will not buy oil from Russia. (…) Now I have to make China do the same, Trump said in the Oval Office.
“Compared to what we did last week in the Middle East, this is relatively easy. (The) Middle East (war) is three thousand years old and we have solved it. It takes three years. And I think we'll end this. I think President Putin wants to end this. We'll see, Trump told reporters.
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Trump also announced that Russia is waging a “ridiculous” war in which it has lost 1.5 million people.
— We just want President Putin to end it. To stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians. (…) This does not put him in a positive light. This is a war he was supposed to win in a week. And it is entering its fourth year. This does not put this so-called war machine in a good light, the president continued.
– But he can make a deal. We want to reach a settlement. I thought we had a deal. The hatred between the two leaders (Russia and Ukraine) is an obstacle, Trump said.
— Who would have thought that I had brought peace to the Middle East and that I couldn't get two guys to come to terms? But I think we can persuade him. If India stops buying oil, it will be much easier, emphasized Trump, who in August imposed tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
Referring to the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House scheduled for Friday, Trump said that Ukraine “wants to go on the offensive.” He stressed that he was also considering other options apart from handing over Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev and that he would have to make a decision on this matter.
