US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can end the war with Russia “almost immediately” if he chooses to do so, as they prepared to meet in Washington for crucial talks.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Remember how it started. No getting back (former President Barack) Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!” he added.
Zelenskyy will meet with Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss proposals on ending the war. A group of senior European leaders and the head of NATO will travel to Washington to join the talks.
In a separate post, Trump said: “Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!”
In another post, he said the “Fake News will say that it is a big loss for President Trump to host so many great European Leaders at our beautiful White House,” emphasizing that it is “a great honor for America!!!”
Earlier, Trump slammed media reports claiming he suffered a “major defeat” by allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a major summit in the US.
He said Putin “would have loved doing the meeting anywhere else but the U.S., and the Fake News knows this. It was a major point of contention!"
“If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was,” he added.
Trump and Putin held a three-hour closed-door meeting Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, with Putin saying they reached an "understanding."
Following the summit, Trump told Fox News that significant points were agreed upon, with only minor items remaining.