Donald Trump hopes for triad meeting on Ukraine as reasonable chance to end war

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached between the parties. Trump highlighted that “very significant progress” has been made in negotiations with Vladimir Putin.

“The President of Ukraine is with us. We had a lot of conversations. I believe we are making progress, very significant progress. I recently met with the President of Russia, as you know, and there’s a real possibility that something could come out of this. Today’s meeting is crucial; we have seven strong leaders from Europe here, and we will meet with them afterwards. Thank you all for being here,” Trump said.

When asked about the prospects of reaching an agreement, Trump responded, “This is not the end of the road.”

“People are dying. We want to stop this. I believe we have a good chance. The conflict has been ongoing for almost four years. Just last week, many lives were lost. Millions have perished on both sides. I know President Zelenskyy personally, and I believe Vladimir Putin also wants to bring it to an end,” Trump added.

Asked whether today’s meeting signalled the end of American support for Ukraine, Trump firmly stated he would never say that.

“It’s never the end of the road. People are dying, and we want to put an end to it,” he said.

The journalist also asked whom Trump believed would ultimately bring the war to an end, Putin or Zelenskyy.

“If everything works out well today, we’ll have a triad, and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that,” Trump replied.

Before speaking with reporters, President Zelensky handed Trump a letter from Ukraine’s First Lady, addressed to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.

“My wife, the first Lady of Ukraine, gave the letter. It’s not to you, but to your wife,” Zelenskyy explained.