WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine are closer to success than at any point since the conflict began, following extensive discussions with European leaders and direct conversations with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking from the Oval Office during a Mexican Border Defense Medal Presentation, Trump expressed cautious optimism while acknowledging the complexity of the nearly four-year-long war.
“We had a very good conversation about an hour ago with many European leaders regarding the war with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said. “We had a long discussion, and things are seemingly going well — though it’s a very difficult situation.”
Trump said he recently held lengthy talks with Zelensky and leaders from Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and NATO. He also referenced positive developments involving security protocols between Russia and Ukraine.
The president reiterated his long-standing view that the conflict should never have happened, calling it “Biden’s situation,” and emphasized that progress toward peace has accelerated in recent weeks.
“I think we’re closer now than we’ve ever been,” Trump said. “We’ve had numerous conversations with President Putin, and I truly believe we’re nearer to an agreement than at any time before.”
Trump stressed that his administration’s primary goal is to stop the massive loss of life. He cited casualty figures of 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers killed per month, describing the death toll as the worst seen since World War II.
“We want to save lives,” Trump said. “We sell equipment to NATO, but more importantly, we want to end the killing.”
He acknowledged that both Russia and Ukraine have, at times, appeared ready to end the war only to pull back, but said efforts are underway to align both sides toward a final resolution.
Trump noted that his administration has already helped resolve multiple international conflicts since returning to office and said an end to the Russia–Ukraine war would mark another major diplomatic achievement.
