U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration’s efforts to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal were “hopefully underway,” and that he wanted to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.
In a highly anticipated address via videolink to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said: “I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to get that war ended, and that’s not from the standpoint of economy or anything else. It’s from the standpoint of millions of lives are being wasted.”
In December, Trump said that Putin had expressed an interest in meeting him.
Russian President Vladimir Putin winks during his annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in held in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2024.
Gavriil Grigorov | Via Reuters
Without providing details, Trump also said Thursday: “Our efforts to secure a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine are now, hopefully, underway. It’s so important to get that done.”
He meanwhile suggested that high oil prices were a reason for the war, and called on producer group OPEC to bring down prices.
Trump earlier this week threatened to impose “high levels” of sanctions and tariffs on Russia if it did not “make a deal” to end its war against Ukraine.
His approach was praised by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in an interview at WEF earlier on Thursday. Rutte told CNBC he was “very happy” with Trump’s sanctions threat. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof similarly approved of the president’s comments, telling CNBC such sanctions would be “good pressure on Russia to act.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025.
Yves Herman | Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a more skeptical tone during his Tuesday address at Davos, questioning whether Trump would “even notice Europe” during his presidency. Attending the event to promote Kyiv’s set of peace proposals as the war approaches its third anniversary, Zelenskyy also suggested Trump could overlook Europe to broker Ukraine peace talks by working with Russia and China.
Washington has already issued sanctions on Russia targeting areas including shipping and energy, along with individuals believed to be sustaining the war effort. The U.S. has also provided by far the greatest financial assistance to Ukraine of any nation, including billions in military aid.
U.S. funding for Kyiv has become increasingly politically contentious, with former U.S. President Joe Biden struggling to pass a foreign aid bill including $60 billion in Ukraine support in April 2024. Trump’s re-election in November raised questions over the future of the war, including whether Europe will increase its own contributions to Ukraine.
NATO head Rutte told CNBC that Europe must also “step up” its own sanctions in order to “choke off the Russian economy.”