Trump: Putin did not want to start war in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump believes that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is seeking to end the war in Ukraine, and he "did not want" to start it.
He said this during his press conference, Censor.NET reports.
According to Trump, in terms of "reaching a final settlement," "it may be easier to deal with Russia, which is strange because they hold all the cards."
"I mean, they're bombing and bombing the hell out of it right now. And I made a statement, a very strong statement... We are trying to help them, and Ukraine has to get on the ball and get the job done," he said.
Trump said that without him, the war in Ukraine would have had no chance of ending: "We have to stop it. They're losing an average of 2,000 soldiers every week."
At the same time, he added that Putin did not want to start a war against Ukraine.
"I believe that they (in Europe - ed.) do not know how to end the war. I think I know how to end the war. I have always had a good relationship with Putin. He wants to end the war. He did not want to start it," the US president said.
Trump wants to end the war before providing security guarantees to Ukraine.
"Before I even start thinking about it, I want to settle the war, end it. As for the question of security guarantees later, that's the easy part. The hard part is to settle this issue," Trump said.
According to him, he paused military aid to Ukraine to "stop the deaths."
