On Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that he might have a meeting with Vladimir Putin “very soon,” expressing his belief that the Russian leader is genuinely interested in ending the conflict in Ukraine. “No time set, but it could be very soon,” Trump told the press shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio worked to temper expectations about high-level talks in Riyadh aimed at resolving the war.
As Rubio prepared to lead a key American delegation to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital in the coming days, diplomatic efforts were ramping up as the war in Ukraine approaches its third anniversary. Trump, speaking to reporters after a flight aboard Air Force One, shared that his team has been in extensive discussions with Russian representatives, including his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who, according to Trump, recently spent around three hours in talks with Putin.
“I think he wants to stop fighting,” Trump commented when asked about Putin’s intentions.
When asked whether he believed Putin intended to take control of all of Ukraine, Trump replied, “That was my question to him.” He added, “If he’s going to go on… that would have caused me a big problem.”
“I think he wants to end it, and they want to end it fast. Both of them,” Trump continued, adding, “Zelenskyy wants to end it too.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concerns that Russia might attempt to “wage war” against a weakened NATO if Trump were to reduce U.S. support for the alliance. Trump seemed to brush off Zelenskyy’s statement, telling reporters he was “not even a little bit” worried about what the Ukrainian president had said.
Trump had repeatedly claimed that if he returned to the White House, he could bring the war in Ukraine to an end in a single day. However, Rubio emphasized that resolving such a protracted and complicated conflict would “not be easy.” He said in an interview with CBS during the Munich Security Conference, “A process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing.”
Rubio’s trip to Riyadh is imminent, but it remains uncertain whether Ukrainian representatives will be involved. Rubio mentioned that he wasn’t even sure who Russia would be sending to the talks. “Nothing’s been finalized yet,” he said, adding that the objective is to open the door for broader discussions that “would include Ukraine and would involve the end of the war.”
Witkoff and U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz are expected to attend the talks in Riyadh. Trump and Putin recently had a lengthy phone conversation in which they agreed to begin ceasefire negotiations. This unexpected development surprised NATO allies and Kyiv, with Zelenskyy asserting that there should be “no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Rubio, who had spoken by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, remarked, “Right now there is no process,” and “One phone call does not make peace.”
In an NBC interview on Sunday, Zelenskyy called Putin a “serial liar” and said he could not be trusted as a negotiating partner. Rubio responded, saying, “I don’t think in geopolitics, anyone should trust anyone.” He added, “The next few weeks and days will determine whether (Putin) is serious or not.”
{Matzav.com}
