US President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Russia’s Vladimir Putin to “stop shooting” in Ukraine and finalize a peace deal, a day after meeting Ukraine’s President at the Vatican.
Trump, who had boasted prior to his inauguration that he could end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within a day, has embarked on a diplomatic push since taking office to bring the fighting to an end. However, these efforts have yet to achieve any breakthrough.
“Well, I want him to stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal,” Trump said in response to a question on what he wanted from Putin.
Trump was speaking on the tarmac at Morristown airport before boarding Air Force One bound for Washington, having attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on Saturday.
“We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it,” Trump added, likely referring to a US-proposed peace plan for the more-than-three-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
Trump had met with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky at the funeral, where the two leaders spoke face-to-face for the first time since a disastrous televised meeting in the White House in February.
After their brief talk in St Peter’s Basilica, Trump cast doubt over whether Putin wanted an end to the war, which has devastated swaths of eastern Ukraine and killed tens of thousands of people.
Trump also said on Sunday that he thought Zelensky was ready to give up Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula captured by Russia in 2014, as part of efforts to agree a peace deal.
“Oh, I think so,” said Trump in response to a question on whether he thought Zelensky was ready to “give up” the territory.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has claimed the annexation of four eastern and southern Ukrainian territories, despite lacking complete military control over them.
What you should know
President Trump urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to finalize a peace deal to end the Ukraine conflict, suggesting Ukraine might be ready to cede Crimea to achieve peace, though his diplomatic efforts have yet to deliver results.
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