Trump and Putin gear up for peace talks to end Ukraine war
Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said they "will do something significant," but he did not provide further details. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov assured us that the Russians were ready for discussions.
During the Friday ceremony confirming Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior, Donald Trump highlighted that the talks aim to end the war in Ukraine.
"We will be speaking, and I think will perhaps do something that’ll be significant. We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president," the U.S. President said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the TASS agency, confirmed Russia's readiness to engage in dialogue at the presidential level. However, as he noted, Russia has not yet received an official signal from Washington.
Losses in the Ukraine conflict
In an earlier interview with domestic media, Vladimir Putin emphasized "good relations" with Donald Trump and described the American politician as a "wise and pragmatic man" with whom he could discuss many topics.
The Russian leader stated that Russia and the U.S. have many significant issues to discuss, including nuclear arms control and economic matters. However, he believes peace talks with Ukraine are impossible because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out negotiations.
President Trump assessed that as a result of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine, Russia has lost 800,000 soldiers, and Ukraine has lost 600,000 to 700,000. This information comes from a report by the Polish Press Agency.
