U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday compared the idea of arranging talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “mixing oil and vinegar,” signaling waning optimism for such a dialogue. When asked about the possibility of his own involvement, Trump responded with a guarded, “we’ll see.”
"We're going to see if Putin and Zelenskyy will be working together, you know, that's like oil and vinegar, a little bit. They don't get along too well for obvious reasons, but we'll see," he said.
"And then we'll see whether or not I would have to be there. I would rather not. I would rather have them have a meeting and see how they can do. But in the meantime, they continue to fight and they continue to kill people, which is very stupid because they're losing 7000 people. Now they're losing 7000 people a week. They're losing 7000 people on average a week, mostly soldiers. So we want to see if we're going to stop. I've stopped seven wars. I'd like to make this one, I thought would have been in the middle of the pack in terms of difficulty. It's turning out to be the most difficult," he added.
This comes a day after Trump took a diversion from his long-term peace stance on Russia-Ukraine war and hinted at letting Kyiv "fight back".
"It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out? Regardless, this is a war that would have NEVER happened if I were President - ZERO CHANCE. Interesting times ahead!!!" he had said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump's recent efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine conflict have sent conflicting messages. His Alaska talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any tangible result, while later he informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that a three-way discussion could be on the cards "if all went well."
Highlighting the necessity for a strong settlement, Trump pointed out that peacemaking should aim to bring long-term stability instead of temporary agreements. While projecting himself as a possible mediator, he also highlighted that the U.S. would not engage in direct military action.
Trump made it clear that American soldiers would not be sent to Ukraine in any peace deal, but he did note that European allies appeared more likely to send forces under security guarantees. The U.S., he further added, would only have a role in helping with logistics and material aid.
Russia has been firmly opposed to the matter, outrightly denying any Western military intervention in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Moscow needs to maintain veto power over the suggested security structures. He also threatened that leaving Russia out of determining Ukraine's future security guarantees would be "a road to nowhere."
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