Trump ‘More Confident’ of Ukraine Deal

AFP/APP

Palmbeach: US President Donald Trump has expressed growing confidence in efforts to end the Ukraine war, signalling that he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as Washington moves towards direct engagement with Moscow.

Speaking after US and Russian officials held talks in Riyadh, Trump said he was now “much more confident” that a deal could be reached to end the conflict, which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Riyadh meeting, which lasted more than four hours, resulted in an agreement to establish negotiating teams tasked with exploring a pathway towards ending the war.

Trump said Russia appeared willing to seek an end to the fighting, describing the talks as “very good” and saying he believed he had the ability to bring the conflict to an end.

The US president also indicated that a meeting with Putin could take place before the end of February, saying it would “probably” happen.

However, Washington’s direct engagement with Moscow has triggered concern in Kyiv and across Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised Ukraine’s exclusion from the Riyadh talks, while Trump blamed Kyiv for objecting to its absence.

Trump argued that Ukraine had already had three years to negotiate a settlement and should have reached a deal earlier.

The shift in Washington’s approach towards Moscow has also raised concerns among European leaders, who fear that the United States could agree to concessions with Russia that would alter Europe’s wider security landscape.