President Donald Trump conceded that his efforts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia to end their three-year war are proving much harder than he initially expected.
During a news conference at the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Trump was asked why he had not been able to end the war in the five months since he took office, after he once bragged that he could end the battle in 24 hours.
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“Because it’s more difficult than people would have any idea,” Trump responded Wednesday morning. “[Russian President] Vladimir Putin has been more difficult. Frankly, I had some problems with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky. You may have read about them, and it’s been more difficult than other wars.”
Minutes before Trump’s conference began, Zelensky posted on social media about a meeting he held with the U.S. president on the sidelines at NATO on Wednesday.
“I had a long and substantive meeting with President Trump @POTUS,” he wrote 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. Details will follow.”
Trump told reporters he did not speak with Zelensky about the ceasefire deal but praised him as “very nice.”
“He was very nice, actually,” said Trump. “Couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to [the war].”
Trump also claimed that he would speak with Putin about the war to “see if we can get it ended.”
Trump and Vice President JD Vance virally berated Zelensky during his February visit to the White House for allegedly disrespecting the administration. Zelensky was attempting to persuade Trump to back up Ukraine with military and financial commitments as the president pushed for a ceasefire deal.
Zelensky is notorious for wearing war-inspired attire of black or olive green sweatshirts as Ukraine fends off Russia. But he stunned onlookers during the NATO summit when he opted for formal attire, donning a black suit-style jacket and shirt before the summit’s social dinner after being criticized for not wearing a suit and tie when he met with Trump at the White House earlier this year.
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Trump is headed back to the U.S. on Wednesday after the press conference as he continues to deal with the fallout from the attacks against Iran’s three nuclear facilities and the tentative ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
“We assessed that the American strikes on Iran nuclear facilities has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come,” Trump said after reports claimed the attacks would only set back Iran for two months. “This achievement can continue indefinitely, if Iran does not get access to nuclear material, which it won’t.”