WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end their brutal war following a lengthy White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In recent weeks, he had shown growing impatience with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed greater openness to helping Ukraine win the war.
“It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, didn’t say ‘yes,'” he said.
They don’t intend to stop,” Zelenskyy added.
But the Russian leader hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine.
WASHINGTON — After a long White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump urged Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and put an end to their bloody conflict on Friday.
In the nine months since he took office, Trump has frequently expressed his frustration with the conflict, but with his most recent remarks, he took a step back toward pressuring Ukraine to stop reclaiming territory that it has lost to Russia.
Shortly after hosting Zelenskyy and his team for over two hours of talks, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,”. “They ought to pause where they are. It is up to history to decide whether either of them wins.
Shortly after making his way to Florida, where he will spend the weekend, Trump called on both sides to “stop the war immediately” and suggested that Moscow should retain the territory it has stolen from Kyiv.
Trump told reporters that “you go by the battle line wherever it is — otherwise it’s too complicated.”. “When you stop at the battle line, both sides should return home, see their loved ones, and put an end to the killing. That should be it. “.
Trump’s stance on the war changed once again as a result of the remarks. He had become increasingly irritated with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks and had shown a greater willingness to assist Ukraine in winning the war.
Following their encounter in New York, outside of the annual U.S. N. . Trump even stated at the General Assembly last month that he thought Ukraine could reclaim all of the land that they had lost to Russia since Putin’s invasion in February 2022. That was a significant change for Trump, who had previously maintained that in order to end the war, Kyiv would have to give up territory that it had lost to Russia.
After the meeting on Friday, Zelenskyy declared that a ceasefire and negotiations were needed. When asked if Trump was pressuring Ukraine to cede land, he avoided giving a direct response.
In response to reporters’ questions regarding Trump’s social media post, which he had not seen, Zelenskyy stated, “The president is right we have to stop where we are, and then to speak.”.
An additional shift in tone.
Following a long phone conversation with Putin on Thursday, during which he declared that he would meet with the Russian leader in Budapest, Hungary, in the upcoming weeks, Trump’s stance on the war changed.
Zelenskyy was also given a hint by the president on Friday that he is inclined not to sell him long-range Tomahawk missiles, which the Ukrainians think could be a game-changer in forcing Putin to engage in talks.
According to Zelenskyy’s “proposition” at the beginning of the White House negotiations, Washington would sell Kyiv the Tomahawk cruise missiles in exchange for Ukraine giving the US its sophisticated drones.
Trump, however, claimed he was reluctant to use the U. S. supply, a reversal from days earlier when he had indicated that he was considering sending the missiles to assist Ukraine in repelling Russia’s invasion.
Since you never know what will happen in war or peace, Trump added, “I have an obligation also to make sure that we’re completely stocked up as a nation.”. “We’d much rather they didn’t require Tomahawks. To be honest, we would much rather the war be over. “.
In a conversation with Kristen Welker of “Meet the Press” on NBC, Zelenskyy implied that the door was still open.
President Trump said, “It’s good that he didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, didn’t say ‘yes.'”.
Also, Zelenskyy stated that “we need Tomahawks” because “using Ukrainian drones alone is really challenging.”. “.”.
Trump’s recent remarks about Tomahawks undoubtedly disappointed Ukrainians. Trump had recently expressed a willingness to sell Ukraine the Tomahawks, despite Putin’s warning that doing so would put additional pressure on the U.S. S. -Russian relations.
Why Tomahawks?
However, Trump started downplaying the likelihood that Ukraine would receive the missiles, which have a range of roughly 995 miles (1,600 kilometers), after his call with Putin on Thursday. ).
According to Zelenskyy, the Tomahawks would enable Ukrainian forces to launch attacks deep into Russian territory, focusing on vital infrastructure, energy facilities, and military locations. According to Zelenskyy, the possibility of such attacks would compel Putin to give Trump’s demands for direct talks to end the war more weight.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, told Trump during the call that sending the Tomahawks to Kyiv “won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries.”.
Trump and Zelenskyy met in person for the fifth time since the Republican took office again in January.
Zelenskyy’s participation in the forthcoming negotiations in Hungary is “to be determined,” the president said Friday, adding that a “double meeting” with the leaders of the warring nations was probably the most practical way to have fruitful talks.
“We want to make it comfortable for everyone,” Trump continued. “These two leaders do not like each other.”.
The hostility toward Putin, however, “is not about feelings,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “..”.
“They are an enemy of ours because they attacked us. “They have no intention of ceasing,” Zelenskyy continued. They are an enemy, then. Hating someone else is not the only thing at stake. Even so, we certainly despise the enemy. Absolutely. “.
Trump, recalling his 2024 campaign, made it clear that he would put an immediate end to the war, but after a diplomatic blitz in August that included a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies and a summit with Putin in Alaska, his peace efforts seemed to stall.
After those discussions, Trump was confident he was on course to set up direct negotiations between Zelenskyy and Putin. However, Moscow has only stepped up its bombardment of Ukraine, and the Russian leader has shown no interest in meeting with Zelenskyy.
Trump acknowledged the possibility that he was being duped by Putin when asked on Friday, but he insisted that he was sure he could deal with the Russian leader.
Trump remarked, “I’ve been played by the best of them all my life, and I came out really well.”. “I believe I am fairly proficient at this stuff,” he continued. “..”.
