Trump, in doubt about the Putin-Zelensky meeting: Maybe they should fight a little longer

2025-08-31 13:36:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Trump, in doubt about the Putin-Zelensky meeting: Maybe they should fight a

President Trump cast doubt on the prospects of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of an effort to end the war in Eastern Europe, suggesting that "maybe they should fight a little longer."

The president, in an interview with The Daily Caller, expressed confidence that a trilateral meeting between him, Putin, and Zelensky could materialize, but had less confidence in a bilateral meeting between the two Eastern European leaders.

"A trilateral meeting could happen. A bilateral meeting I'm not sure about, but a trilateral will happen. You know how it is: sometimes people are not ready," Trump said.

Trump, as part of his efforts to end the nearly three-and-a-half-year war, has sought a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. The Ukrainian leader, who also met with the president earlier this month, has signaled a willingness to sit down with the Kremlin leader, but Russian officials have so far rejected him.

For now, Russia appears to be slowing down the administration's effort to broker a peace deal to end the fighting. Ukraine has rejected the possibility of making major territorial concessions to end the war, while U.S. and European officials have continued to discuss possible post-conflict security guarantees to prevent another invasion.

Trump, again, ruled out the possibility of deploying US troops on the ground as part of a security guarantee, but signaled a willingness to provide US air support to help stop the fighting, something he mentioned earlier this month.

“Maybe we’ll do something. Listen, I’d like to see something resolved. They’re not our soldiers, but five to seven thousand people, mostly young people, are being killed every week,” the president told Reese in the interview. “If I could stop this and have a plane flying every now and then, it would be mostly Europeans, but we, we would help them.”

After meeting with Putin in Alaska earlier this month, a U.S. official promised a major concession from Russia, allowing for “NATO-like” security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace deal. The commitment does not appear to be in place, as Russia is seeking an effective veto over what those security guarantees would look like.

While peace talks appear to be at an impasse, the conflict has continued with Russia launching massive airstrikes on Ukraine. On Thursday, Moscow hit Kiev with a major missile and drone attack that killed 23 people and wounded dozens more.

Hours later, the Trump administration approved the sale of 3,350 long-range attack missiles (ERAMs) and 3,350 GPS units to Ukraine, part of an $825 million munitions deal to bolster Kiev's defense capabilities./ CNA