President Donald Trump said Tuesday he believes Russia and Ukraine are headed toward a deal, speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
“The president and I are trying to figure out a solution, and I think it’s going to happen. I really do. I believe it’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters, adding that he and Zelensky “have a very good relationship.”
Asked whether Ukraine could recover territory it has lost since Russia’s invasion, Trump declined to detail terms but said an agreement is coming.
“Well, I think they’re going to make a deal, and I don’t want to say what the deal is. We talk about it a lot, including with President Putin, and I think something’s going to happen.”
Trump praised Ukraine’s military performance in the war, which has now stretched past four and a half years.
“But certainly they are very good fighters. Really, they can be proud of themselves. Regardless, we’ll see what happens. But very, very capable people, very capable leadership.”
Zelensky opened the meeting by saying he hopes the fighting ends before winter.
“I hope that we will end this war, and President Trump will help us to end this war. And I think that we needed to do as quick as possible before winter.”
Trump echoed the timeline. “Before winter,” he said. “Big thing before winter.”
Reporters also asked Trump about the possibility of a three-way meeting with himself, Zelensky, and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in Miami, Florida.
“Well, I don’t know. I know that he will meet, and we’ve had a meeting already in Alaska. I think he’d do another one. I don’t know about Miami. We have a big thing happening in Miami very soon. But no, he’ll meet. He’s willing to meet. He’s willing. He’d like to see the war end.”
Trump said he believes both sides now want the fighting to stop. “I think they both want to see the war end, to be honest with you. It’s time. A lot of people being killed, and they don’t want that. But I think they both want to see the war ended,” he said.
