WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump said it’s “possible” that Vladimir Putin has ambitions beyond Ukraine as he closed out a NATO Summit, where allies identified Russia as one of the greatest threats to the security of the alliance.
Trump also acknowledged it’s been a more of slog negotiating an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine than he predicted during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Putin has been “more difficult” to deal with than he anticipated, Trump said, adding he’s also had “some problems” with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I consider him a person that’s, I think has been misguided,” he said of Putin. “I’m very surprised actually, I thought we would have had that settled easy.”
Trump made the acknowledgement after meeting with Zelenskyy, who he said “couldn’t have been nicer.”
Zelenskyy said he discussed how to achieve a ceasefire with Russia in his meeting Trump at the NATO Summit. They had a “long and substantive meeting,” he said in a post on X.
“We covered all the truly important issues. I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace. We spoke about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump met with Zelenskyy just before he held a news conference closing out the NATO Summit. The meeting took place entirely behind closed doors with no reporters present.
He said at the press conference he would consider selling Patriot missiles to Ukraine that Zelenskyy has been offering to buy from the United States.
The president said he told Putin during a call this month that he didn’t want his help with Iran, he wanted him to settle his war with Ukraine.
“Vladimir Putin really has to end that war,” Trump said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Putin being ‘difficult’ over Ukraine war, Trump says at NATO meet
