The U.S. President stated on Sunday his desire for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to cease hostilities in Ukraine and agree to a peace settlement, one day after the American leader held discussions with Ukraine’s president at the Vatican.
The President, who had previously asserted his ability to swiftly end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upon taking office, has initiated a diplomatic push aimed at halting the ongoing conflict.
However, these efforts have yet to produce any tangible breakthroughs. “Well, I want him to stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal,” the President said when asked about his objectives regarding Putin.
He made these remarks on the tarmac at Morristown airport before departing on Air Force One for Washington, following his attendance at Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome on Saturday.
“We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it,” the President added, likely alluding to a U.S.-proposed peace initiative for the conflict in Ukraine, which has now spanned over three years.
During the Pope’s funeral, the President met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, marking their first in-person interaction since a strained televised meeting at the White House in February.
Following their brief conversation in St Peter’s Basilica, the President expressed uncertainty about Putin’s genuine desire to end the war, which has inflicted widespread devastation across eastern Ukraine and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties.
The U.S. President also suggested on Sunday that he believed Zelensky was prepared to concede Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of efforts to reach a peace agreement.
“Oh, I think so,” the President responded when questioned on whether he thought Zelensky was ready to “give up” the territory.
Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has declared the annexation of four eastern and southern regions of the war-torn nation, despite not having complete military control over these areas.
