Washington will cease all assistance to Kiev if the latter fails to demonstrate its commitment to reaching peace with Moscow, US President Donald Trump has said. Trump also stated that Russia has been more cooperative than Ukraine when it comes to a potential settlement of the conflict.
“I have to know that they want to settle [the conflict],” Trump told journalists on Friday in response to a question about US military aid to Kiev. The president said that he did not currently know if Kiev was truly committed to peace.
“If they don’t want to settle, we’re out of there, because we want them to settle.”
Washington has so far had more productive communication with Moscow on a potential resolution of the conflict, even though Russia “has all the cards” and Ukraine has none, the president said. Trump added that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin does want peace.
“I think we’re doing very well with Russia,” the US president said, adding that he was “finding it more difficult … to deal with Ukraine.”
Last Friday, Trump and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky engaged in a tense exchange at the White House. The meeting, intended as a prelude to the signing of an agreement granting the US access to Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals, eventually turned heated. Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of “gambling with World War III” by resisting peace negotiations with Russia. The confrontation led to the deal being abruptly put on hold.
In his address to the US Congress this week, Trump said he had received a letter from Zelensky in which the latter reportedly agreed to come to the negotiating table in the near future.
Following the scandal, the US suspended military assistance to Ukraine and all intelligence sharing operations with Kiev.
Last month, Moscow and Washington held a high-level meeting in Saudi Arabia, where the two sides discussed the Ukraine conflict and agreed to work on restoring ties. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is open to peace talks and has also expressed interest in economic cooperation with the US in a wide range of fields.
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