Trump says willing to meet with Putin to end Ukraine war, hopes to avoid strikes on Iran

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he wants to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as soon as possible and stop the war with Ukraine. In another context, he said, "It would be good to solve the problems with Iran without Israel striking military facilities."

He said he also wanted to work to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, adding that he believed Russia and China might support reducing their weapons capabilities.

In the run-up to his November 5 election victory, Trump repeatedly said he would reach a deal between Ukraine and Russia on his first day in office, if not sooner. Now his advisers acknowledge that it will take months to resolve the war.

“I would really like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to end this war,” Trump, who returned to the White House on Monday, said via video link at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“It’s not from an economic standpoint or anything else. It’s because of the millions of lives that are being lost… It’s a massacre. And we really have to stop this war,” he added.

Later in the day, Trump told reporters at the White House that he was willing to meet with Putin as soon as possible to end what he called a ridiculous war.

“From what I hear, Putin wants to meet with me,” Trump said. “I would like to meet right away. Every day we don’t meet, soldiers are being killed on the battlefield.”

Trump added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told him that he was ready to reach an agreement to end the war.

Trump told Davos participants that US efforts to seek a peaceful settlement were underway, but he did not provide any details. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Israeli channel indicates that Trump believes that the Iranians will rush to sit at the negotiating table under his leadership.

The British newspaper, Financial Times, quoted unnamed sources as saying that Trump will assign his envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, to handle the Iran file.

The sources added that Witkoff may lead efforts on Iran's nuclear program as part of a broader mission to stop wars in the region.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Reuters