Following talks between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump has expressed confidence that Russia wants to end the conflict, citing the toll the war has taken on Ukrainian, Russian and North Korean soldiers.
He called the war “meaningless” and insisted that it would never have happened under his leadership. Asked about talks between US officials and Russian representatives on ending the war, Trump said he was “very confident” and that “the talks were very good.”
“Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the brutality that’s going on there. Thousands of soldiers are being killed every week. In addition to Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, many Koreans are being killed,” Trump said while signing executive orders at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday (local time). “We want to end it, it’s a senseless war. It should never have happened; it would never have happened if I were president.”
Notably, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials on Tuesday. The talks focused on a range of issues, including the situation in Ukraine, and both sides expressed their commitment to resolving the conflict and addressing its root causes.
Rubio said Tuesday that the US and Russia had agreed on four key principles after more than four hours of talks in Saudi Arabia. These include appointing a high-level team to help “negotiate and work toward an end to the conflict in Ukraine” that is “acceptable to all parties involved,” CNN reported.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not part of the discussions, insisted that Ukraine would “not surrender to Russia’s ultimatum” and would refuse to sign any agreement without Ukraine’s participation.
In a post on X, the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote, “Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov held talks with Secretary of State Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The two sides agreed to establish a Russia-US dialogue.”
“The participants discussed a wide range of issues, including the potential for normalizing bilateral relations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release on the Russia-US consultations. The sides agreed to begin consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers to appoint the relevant ambassadors as soon as possible and lift the restrictions imposed on the activities of the diplomatic missions of the two countries.
“The two sides exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine and reiterated their mutual commitment to resolving the conflict. The Russian side stressed the importance of eliminating the root causes of the conflict, creating favorable conditions for achieving long-term and lasting peace, and ensuring the security and legitimate interests of all countries in the region. It was agreed to continue joint work in this area through special envoys to be appointed in the near future,” the statement said.
The two countries also agreed to resume communication channels to discuss other international issues, mindful of the special responsibilities of Russia and the United States in matters of peace and security as nuclear powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council. The statement confirmed the interest in continuing joint work to prepare for a meeting between the Russian and US presidents.
