Trump said in White House that Putin destroys Russia by not ending war

On the first day of his second term as US president, Donald Trump has said that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to conclude a deal and noted that Russia faced major problems that should encourage Russian leader Vladimir Putin to negotiate.

As reported by Voice of America, Trump was answering journalists' questions about the Russian war in Ukraine on the evening of his inauguration day, upon arriving at the White House. The US president said that "Zelenskyy wants to make a deal". He hoped that Putin would also be ready for a deal because "he is destroying Russia by not making a deal".

"I think Russia would have been in big trouble. Just look at the inflation in Russia... I would hope that he wants to make a deal.

He can't be happy that things aren't going that well for him. I mean, he's doing well, but most people thought the war (Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – ed.) would be over in about a week, and now it's been going on for three years, right?" Trump said, as quoted by AFP.

Commenting on sanctions against Russia, Trump said he favoured tariffs over sanctions.

He also said that he plans to meet with Putin, but did not disclose details about the possible timing of such a meeting, noting that "it could be very soon."

Trump repeated that he is trying to bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine "as soon as possible" and reiterated his claim that the war "should never have started".

He also said that the US provides more assistance to Ukraine than other NATO members. "NATO should pay more. NATO should be paying 5%," Trump said while repeating his demand that NATO should increase defence spending. No NATO country, including the United States, currently spends that much on defence.

Trump promised to be a peacemaker and unifier in his inaugural speech.

On 20 January, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Trump's "peace through strength" policy makes it possible to strengthen American leadership and "achieve a long-term and just peace".

Vladimir Putin, congratulating Trump on taking office, said he was ready for a dialogue on the war he had waged against Ukraine.