
NEWSMAX | Published January 25, 2025
President Donald Trump blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine continuing for nearly three years.
During a Thursday Q&A following his video speech to attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked if a peace agreement will exist between Russia and Ukraine when he attends next year’s conference.
“Well, you’re gonna have to ask Russia,” Trump said. “Ukraine is ready to make a deal.”
Trump said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries shares responsibility for the war because it has kept oil prices too high.
“If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” said Trump, alluding to Russia earning much revenue from its energy sales.
Feb. 24 will mark three years since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“I knew that it [Ukraine] was the apple of President Putin’s eye, but I also knew that there was no way he was going in … and he wasn’t going to go in,” Trump told the WEF crowd. “And then when I was out [of office] bad things happened, bad things were said, a lot of stupidity all around and you end up with what you have.
“Now you have all of these bombed-out cities – they look like demolition sites with many people killed. I think the thing that you’ll see about Ukraine is far more people died than is being reported.”
In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “told me he wants to make a deal.” Trump added, “I don’t know if Putin does. … He might not. I think he should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” Politico reported.
During his WEF speech on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said European countries will need to step up and join peacekeeping efforts in his country.
“Most of the world’s now thinking — so, what’s going happen to their relationship with America? What will happen to alliances? To support? To trade? How does President Trump plan to end wars?” Zelenskyy said.
“But no one is asking these kinds of questions about Europe. And we need to be honest about that.”
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SOURCE: www.newsmax.com
RELATED: Trump says it’s Putin’s fault Ukraine war isn’t over
U.S. president also says he’ll ask NATO allies to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Speaking via video link to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said he would bring down the cost of oil, because “if the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately.” | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Image
POLITICO | Published January 25, 2025
DAVOS, Switzerland — Donald Trump directly blamed Vladimir Putin for the fact the war in Ukraine is still raging — a day after threatening massive tariffs and sanctions on Russian products if he fails to make a deal to end the conflict.
Speaking in a video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the United States president said he would bring down the cost of oil, because “if the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” adding: “It’s time to end it.”
Asked whether he believed the war in Ukraine would end by the time the WEF returned to Davos in a year, Trump said: “Well you’re gonna have to ask Russia. Ukraine is ready to make a deal.”
The comments explicitly blame the ongoing war on Moscow, as Russian energy revenues are funding its war chest, and are the latest indication of Trump’s evolving perspective on the conflict and warming of relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It comes after Trump on Tuesday told reporters that “Zelenskyy told me he wants to make a deal.” But, he added in the Oval Office on the first day of his second presidency, “I don’t know if Putin does … He might not. I think he should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” a reference to the country’s failing economy and inflation.
Zelenskyy, for his part, has repeatedly reached out to the Trump administration to make the case that it is Moscow, not Kyiv, which stands in the way of a peace deal — a message Trump has clearly heard.
In his own address at Davos on Tuesday, Zelenskyy also sought to appeal to Trump by echoing some of his talking points about the need for Europe to “step up” and be responsible for its own security, and backed the 5 percent NATO spending target.
Trump also said he would guarantee security of supply of liquefied natural gas to Europe. “Yes I would. I would make sure that you get it. If we make a deal, we make a deal. You’ll get it.”
The U.S. is already the European Union’s second-largest gas partner and largest LNG supplier, after Russia cut off supplies following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Trump has little power to boost exports in the short term, and potential trade friction between the U.S. and EU could affect gas supplies.
Trump on Thursday also said he would “ask all our [NATO] nations to increase defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product, which is what it should have been years ago.” Currently, the NATO spending target is 2 percent, with 24 out of 32 meeting that.
Still, while Trump has previously slammed NATO members for their lackluster defense spending and other perceived ills, on Thursday in his WEF address he seemed to strike a conciliatory tone, saying: “I love Europe, I love the countries of Europe.”
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SOURCE: www.politico.eu
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