“I think Putin and Zelensky have to come together. I want to stop killing millions of people because I know what,” Trump told White House reporters.
Trump has prompted a deal to end the war soon, and has made separate calls with both leaders. His top official recently met his Russian counterpart in Saudi Arabia in consultations that do not include Ukraine.
Trump’s new call follows comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the start of Friday, and the potential meeting between Trump and Putin “will make progress by ending the war in Ukraine.” It will depend heavily on it.”
In an interview published on social media, Rubio told Russian officials in Saudi Arabia that he previously told Russian officials there would be no meetings until they “know what the meeting will be.”
Officials say Trump wants to know if Russia is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. This was caused by a full-scale invasion in Moscow three years ago.
“The only way is to test them, basically get involved with them and say, “Okay, are you serious about ending the war? And, if so, what are your requests? Are your public requests different from your personal requests?”
MNA/