President Donald Trump voiced his frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s inability to sit in a room together.
After a renewed flurry of hope that peace could be achieved between Russia and Ukraine in July, talks have once again stalled over Moscow and Kyiv’s mutually exclusive war goals. Trump has heaped blame on both parties, bemoaning how hard it is to get the two leaders together to reporters on Tuesday.
“It takes two to tango. Those are two people, Zelensky and Putin, that hate each other, and it looks like I have to sit in the room with them, because they can’t sit in a room together. There’s great hatred there,” Trump said.
Trump again reiterated his demand that Europe “stop buying oil from Russia” and said Zelensky was going to “have to make a deal.”
Trump’s demand shifts the responsibility onto Europe and backs it into an untenable position — if it completely cuts off purchases of Russian “shadow oil,” it would inflict massive economic devastation.
Zelensky offered subtle criticism of Trump the same day, arguing that Europe had already taken action with sanctions and that “all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the U.S.”
“More needs to be done, quicker,” he added.
Zelensky complained that the Alaska summit “gave a lot to Putin,” and that the Russian president was “trying to find a way out of isolation” through Trump.
However, he said he was open to a trilateral meeting, which he believed could produce “some result.”
Zelensky reiterated his demand for security guarantees, saying he wanted them enshrined in a “document that is supported by the U.S. and all European partners.”
“To make this happen, we need a clear position of President Trump,” he added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump would “probably” meet with Zelensky in New York next week during the United Nations General Assembly. He said Trump has been trying “everything possible” to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump gave similar comments of frustration with Ukraine and Russia earlier this month, saying the two weren’t ready for peace yet.
“I’ve been watching it, I’ve been seeing it, and I’ve been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump said. “Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. But something is going to happen. We are going to get it done.”
“I think we’re going to get it all straightened out,” he added.
Trump maintained that he was being realistic in his push for a peace deal but admitted again that solving the conflict has been much more difficult than he expected. However, he still has confidence in his approach of getting the leaders in a room together, which he thinks is the most effective way to resolve conflicts.
TRUMP SAYS UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ‘NOT READY’ FOR PEACE DESPITE OPTIMISM
“A lot of times, they’re fighting each other for so long,” he said. “They’re fighting each other so long, they don’t even think in terms of peace. It just becomes a way of life. And when I get them together, I get the people in the room, I’m able to convince them. ‘Let’s go. Let’s make peace. It’s enough, already. You’ve lost enough lives.’”
Tensions with Russia escalated last week after Russian drones traveled into Polish airspace, triggering a scrambling of air defense assets to shoot them down. Though it later turned out the drones were all decoys, lacking warheads, the episode served as an embarrassment and caused NATO to beef up its eastern air defenses.