Mumbai: U.S. President Donald Trump told the right-wing cable channel Newsmax on Tuesday that while he believes Russia “wants to see an end” to the war in Ukraine, Moscow may be deliberately delaying a peace agreement.
"I don't know. I mean, I'll let you know at a certain point. But I think Russia wants to see an end to it, but they could be dragging their feet," Trump told Newsmax host Greg Kelly during an interview from the White House’s Roosevelt Room.
A Contract Negotiations
Drawing from his business experience, Trump compared Russia’s approach to contract negotiations. “I've done it over the years, you know. I don’t want to sign a contract—I want to stay in the game, but maybe I don’t want to do it quite yet… I'm not sure.” Trump also acknowledged that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the war to end. However, he reiterated earlier claims that Ukraine was not “ready” for peace, a stance Kyiv has consistently rejected.
He painted a grim picture of the conflict, claiming that a combined 2,500 Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are dying each week. “They're not Americans, but that doesn’t matter to me from that standpoint,” he said. “I see the pictures of the battlefields; I’d rather not even see them. We have arms and legs and heads all over the field. The weaponry is ridiculous. It’s a big drone deal now… And I just want to see it stop."
About US President Donald Trump's Remarks
Trump’s remarks came just hours after the Kremlin said it would only implement a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Black Sea if Western sanctions on its financial and agricultural sectors were lifted. The White House had announced earlier that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure—something Ukraine confirmed, stating that “all parties” had committed to a “complete ban” on targeting power facilities.
However, the diplomatic progress was quickly overshadowed by Moscow’s refusal to return control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. In his nightly address on Tuesday, Zelensky accused Russia of “manipulation,” warning that continued attacks or threats would require “new measures” against Moscow. “If there are air raid alerts again, if there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue—then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against Moscow,” he said.
