‘It takes two to tango’: Trump says he’ll know in TWO minutes if Ukraine ceasefire deal with Putin is possible
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘It takes two to tango’: Trump says he’ll know in TWO minutes if Ukraine ceasefire deal with Putin is possible")
Trump says he’ll know in TWO minutes if deal with Ukraine ceasefire deal Putin is possible Photograph: (Reuters)
Trump called his upcoming Putin meeting a "feel out meeting," aiming to urge ending the war. He plans follow-up calls with European leaders and hopes for talks involving Zelensky soon.
US President Donald Trump on Monday (August 11) described his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin as “a feel out meeting,” but believes the Russian leader “wants to get it over with.” “I’m going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I’m going to be telling him, you have got to end this war, you got to end it,” he said. Trump added that he hoped for “a constructive” discussion and planned to brief European leaders shortly after.
Calls planned to European leaders after Putin talks
“Then after that meeting, immediately, maybe as I’m flying out, maybe as I’m leaving the room, I’ll be calling the European leaders who I get along with very well,” Trump said. He noted that he maintains a “great relationship” with European leaders and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but stressed he “very, very severely” disagrees with Zelensky’s actions. “This is a war that should have never happened … but I’ll be speaking to Zelensky. The next meeting will be with Zelensky and Putin, or Zelensky and Putin with me there if they need me,” he added.
Frustration over Zelensky’s stance on land swap
Trump expressed irritation with Zelensky’s insistence on constitutional approval for certain negotiations. He said, “I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, Well, I have to get constitutional approval. I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap?” He claimed that “there’ll be some land swapping going on” as part of any settlement, a mix of “good” and “bad” for both sides due to “very uneven” territorial lines.
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Deal-making ‘up to Ukraine’
Trump insisted that while he could broker a framework, the decision would rest with Kyiv. “I’m going to meet with him [Putin]. We’re going to see what the parameters are, and then I’m going to call up President Zelensky and the European leaders … and I’m going to tell them what kind of a deal. I’m not going to make a deal. It’s not up to me to make a deal. I think a deal should be made for both,” he added.
Confident he’ll know within minutes if a deal is possible
Asked about Zelensky’s attendance at the Friday summit, Trump replied: “I would say he could go, but he’s gone to a lot of meetings.” Regarding the Putin meeting, he said, “Probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be [made].” When asked why, Trump responded, “Because that’s what I do. I make deals.” Ultimately, he said, “I’d like to see a ceasefire. I’d like to see the best deal that could be made for both parties. You know, it takes two to tango, right?”
