“Not Putin, Zelenskyy is blocking the peace deal: Trump.”
US President Donald Trump has said that Ukraine, not Russia, is blocking a potential peace agreement. He made the remarks in a special interview with British news agency Reuters at the Oval Office on Wednesday (January 14).
The US president believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end his nearly four-year-long invasion of Ukraine, but that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is less prepared. Trump said, “I think he (Putin) is ready to make a deal. I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”
When asked why Europe’s largest conflict since World War II has not been resolved through US-led negotiations, Trump replied, “Zelenskyy.”
Trump’s comments indicate his dissatisfaction with Zelenskyy. He has at times appeared to trust Putin more than US allies, which has frustrated Ukraine, European capitals, and US lawmakers.
In a report published last December, Reuters said US intelligence agencies have consistently warned that Putin has not abandoned his goal of occupying all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that once belonged to the former Soviet empire. However, at the time, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard denied the report.
