Davos [Switzerland], January 22 : US President Donald Trump said that both Russia and Ukraine want to reach a settlement to end the ongoing conflict, asserting that efforts to broker a deal were "reasonably close," even as he pointed to deep hostility between the leadership of the two countries.
Trump made the remarks while addressing the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, where he spoke at length about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO, and Washington's role in the war.
Speaking on the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said it could be settled despite the hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin.
"I settled 8+ wars, and I thought that was going to be one of my easier ones. Some I settled in a matter of hours because I'm good at that stuff, you know. The United Nations should be doing this. I shouldn't be doing it, but it doesn't matter. We're saving millions of lives. With Ukraine-Russia, there's tremendous hatred between President Zelenskyy and President Putin. That's not good for settlements. There's abnormal hatred. With that being said, I think Russia wants to make a deal. I think Ukraine wants to make a deal and we're going to try getting a deal done. We're reasonably close," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Trump downplayed Washington's role in the Ukraine war during remarks in Davos, arguing that the conflict is primarily Europe's responsibility as he spoke about NATO, which he said treats the United States "very unfairly."
Trump raised Ukraine and Russia's war against it while discussing the alliance, repeating his claim that the war would not have happened if he had been president at the time. He also reiterated his assertion that the 2020 US elections were "rigged."
Questioning what the US had gained from efforts to end the war, Trump asked what his country received "other than death, destruction, and massive amounts of cash going to people who don't appreciate what we do?"
"(I'm) talking about NATO, I'm taking about Europe. They have to work on Ukraine. We don't. The United States is very far away. We have a big, beautiful ocean separating us. We have nothing to do with it," he said.
In that context, Trump said he was directly engaging with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on ending the war.
Zelensky was in Kyiv on Wednesday as Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum, with the US President saying he planned to meet him later in the day as the two continue discussions aimed at ending the Ukraine war.
"I'm dealing with President Zelensky, and I think he wants to make a deal," Trump said.
According to CNN, the planned meeting will come the same day Trump's foreign envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner travel to Moscow for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I believe they're at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done, and if they don't, they're stupid," Trump added of Zelensky and Putin.
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