A Ukraine-Russia peace deal is very close, claimed President Trump on Sunday, as he said Ukrainian President Zelensky is now ready to cede territory to Moscow to bring an end to the war.
President Trump addressed reporters on the tarmac at a New Jersey airport on Sunday, 24 hours after meeting with Zelensky at the Vatican, during the funeral of Pope Francis.
When asked whether he believed Zelensky would give up the strategically important Crimean peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, President Trump replied, “Oh, I think so.”
Zelensky said on Friday that Crimea remains “the property of the Ukrainian people.”
Peace plans revealed by Reuters on Friday showed that the US is proposing for Russia to keep territory in Ukraine that it has captured since 2014, including Crimea and regions in the east of the country bordering Russia.
President Trump expressed sympathy for Zelensky, softening his tone on Ukraine’s leader considerably. He said Zelensky “wants to do something good for his country” and is “working hard,” and also suggested his relationship with Ukraine’s President is not as bad as it has been portrayed since the two men’s previous meeting in the Oval Office.
“Look, it was never bad. We had a little dispute, because I disagreed with something he said, and the cameras were rolling and that was OK with me,” President Trump said.
“Look, he’s in a tough situation, a very tough situation. He’s fighting a much bigger force, much bigger,”
President Trump also said he was “surprised and disappointed” by Russian strikes on Kiev after discussions between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian premier Vladimir Putin. President Trump said he wants Putin to “stop shooting.”
“Sit down and sign the deal. We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it.”
President Trump also spoke about China, and said a new trade deal would happen soon.
“They want to make a deal, obviously,” Trump said.
“Now, they’re not doing any business with us, you know, because, not because of them, because of me. Because at 145% [tariffs], you can’t do business. But something’s going to happen, that’s going to be possible.”