Trump says Putin wants to meet him

Trump delivered the remarks to conservative activisits at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, where he celebrated his victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible,” Trump claimed.

“So we have to wait for this. But we need to end that horrible, horrible war.”

Trump emphasized the heavy military losses incurred in the war and repeated his claims that Russia would not have launched the full-scale invasion if he had been president in 2022.

“Millions of soldiers have died,” he said, adding, “We’ve got to stop it, it’s ridiculous. That war would have never happened if I was president.”

Earlier this week, Putin said that he was prepared to meet with Trump at “any time” to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump will take office on Jan 20, 2025. His return to the White House is expected to mark a significant shift in US policy on Ukraine, with a focus on pressuring Kyiv to make a deal with Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump on Dec. 7 in Paris, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, in the leaders’ first in-person meeting since the election. Zelensky reported that he praised Trump during the meeting, telling him he was the only one Putin feared.

Following the meeting with Zelensky, Trump said the Ukrainian president appeared ready “to make a deal and stop the madness” and that Putin should do the same after incurring staggering losses in Ukraine.

Trump has nominated retired general Keith Kellogg as his special Ukrainian peace envoy, tasked with leading negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. Kellogg is expected to visit Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration.

Kellogg previously co-authored a peace plan that would freeze the front line in Ukraine, take NATO’s accession off the table for an extended period, and partially lift sanctions imposed on Russia. The plan would also cut off military aid to Ukraine unless Kyiv agreed to enter negotiations.

The Financial Times reported on Dec. 20 that despite these proposals, Trump intends to continue sending US weapons to Ukraine when he becomes president.