Trump assured that the Russia-Ukraine war would end, but cautioned that he did not have a definitive timeline for when that would be.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a trilateral meeting involving Russia could take place soon, raising prospects for progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
“If everything works out well today, we’ll have a trilat [trilateral meeting] and think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that,” Trump told reporters at the White House, while stating that “it’s never the end of the road.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged continued U.S. and European backing. “We need to stop this war, to stop Russia. We need support, American and European partners,” he said.
Trump noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to see the war end as well. If a peace deal is reached, Trump added that the U.S. “will work with Ukraine and all to make sure peace stays.” However, the U.S. President tempered expectations, noting that, “The war’s going to end, when it’s going to end, I can’t tell you.”
Trump emphasized that he does not believe a cease-fire should be part of the immediate strategy. “We can work a deal where we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting,” he said. “They have to fight, I wish they could stop, I’d like them to stop, but strategically that would be a disadvantage for one side or the other.”
Trump, who weeks earlier had insisted on an urgent cease-fire, now says the priority is “to go directly to a Peace Agreement.” He added, “We’re going to have a lasting peace. I hope it’s going to be immediately. I hope it doesn’t have to go on.”
Trump also pointed out that he plans to call Russian President Vladimir Putin directly following his talks with Zelenskyy and other European leaders. “I just spoke to President Putin indirectly, and we’re going to have a phone call right after these meetings today,” Trump said. If that leads to a three-way dialogue, he added, “there’s a good chance of maybe ending” the war. But if not, “then the fighting continues.”
U.S. markets continued to trade in the red on Monday afternoon. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) edged 0.1% lower, while the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) slipped 0.16% and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) was down 0.15%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF slipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory a day ago, while retail sentiment around QQQ improved to ‘bullish’ from the ‘neutral’ zone.
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