US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching a peace agreement on Ukraine, speaking outside his Mar-a-Lago residence alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin is "serious about peace."
"Too many people have died and I think both presidents want to make a deal," Trump said. "I believe we have the basis for a deal that is good for Ukraine, good for everyone," he said ahead of his meeting with Zelensky.
He said the Ukrainian president has worked very hard. "He is very brave, his people are very brave."
Trump announced that he would call Putin after tonight's meeting and that he would continue negotiations.
When asked if there was a deadline, he said: "I don't have deadlines. Do you know what my deadline is? To end the war."
Trump also announced that there would be a "strong" security agreement for Ukraine and said that "European nations are very involved" in the process. "I think the European nations have been really great and very aligned with this meeting and reaching an agreement. They're all great people."
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Asked if the recent attacks are an indication that Putin is not serious about the attacks, he says:
"No, I think he's very serious. I also believe that Ukraine carried out powerful attacks. I'm not saying that in a negative sense, they probably had to. There were explosions in several parts of Russia. I don't think they came from Congo, the USA, maybe they came from Ukraine, but I didn't ask, maybe I won't. They are at war and we'll see what happens. We have two countries and two leaders who want the war to end."
Trump believes that peace talks are in their final stages. "Either it (the war) will end or it will go on for a long time. Millions more people would die, and nobody wants that," he said.
Zelensky said he hopes the talks will lead to peace as soon as possible.
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