Trump Optimistic on Ukraine Peace, Cites Need for Ukrainian Elections

US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about the potential for ending the conflict in Ukraine, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate following the first round of US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, Trump highlighted the positive signs emerging from the discussions.

Trump acknowledged the complexities of the situation, but emphasized his belief in his ability to broker a deal.

“I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well,” he said.

He noted that the US and Russian delegations, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, engaged in productive dialogue, leading him to be “much more confident” of reaching an agreement.

“They were very good. Russia wants to do something, they want to stop the savage barbarism,” he said.

Trump also addressed the concerns of some regarding Ukraine’s absence from the initial negotiations, arguing that the conflict should have been resolved sooner. He suggested that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky could have made a deal to avert the invasion.

“You should have never started it. You could have made a deal. I could have made a deal for Ukraine,” Trump stated.

 Trump raised concerns about the suspension of elections in Ukraine under martial law. Citing the need for democratic representation, Trump said:

“Wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have to say like, ‘It’s been a long time since we’ve had an election?'”

He emphasized that this sentiment was not solely driven by Russia, but also shared by “many other countries.”

According to the US State Department, during Tuesday’s talks in Riyadh, Rubio and Lavrov agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible”.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz later told reporters in Riyadh that it was a “practical reality” that the negotiations would involve discussion about territory and post-conflict security guarantees.

European leaders are working to develop a unified approach to the negotiations, with France expected to host a second round of talks Wednesday following an initial summit that failed to produce a cohesive stance. Trump expressed support for the potential deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine, while indicating that US troops would not be involved.