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President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Ukraine, not Russia, is holding up a possible peace deal to end the nearly four-year-long war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The president made the remarks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. The outlet reported that Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end the war, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was noncommittal.
“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump told Reuters, referencing Putin. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”
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When he was asked why U.S. intervention had not brought about an end to the war, Trump responded: “Zelenskyy,” Reuters reported.
Trump refused to go into detail on why he believed Zelenskyy was holding back, saying that he believes the Ukrainian president was “having a hard time getting there,” referring to a peace agreement. However, later in the interview, Trump said he would be willing to meet with Zelenskyy at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The president told Reuters that, contrary to reports, he was not aware of a possible trip to Moscow involving his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff.
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Trump’s comments stand in stark contrast to those of some European leaders, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said on Jan. 11 that the onus was on Russia “to show that they are interested in peace.” Von der Leyen told Reuters that the E.U. was working on plans to ensure Ukraine would see economic prosperity after the war ends.
Tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy have brewed for some time with the two having a heated exchange in front of reporters and other VIPs in the Oval Office in late February 2025. Trump pushed back when Zelenskyy suggested that the U.S. would feel Russia’s wrath, despite being an ocean away.
Zelenskyy seemed to express his openness to working with the Americans to end the war despite his sometimes tumultuous relationship with Trump.
“Work with America on security guarantees, on economic agreements, and on the political document, needs to be swift. On our end, we are being as productive as possible. We also expect energy from the American side in their work,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
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