US President Donald Trump on Friday said there was progress towards ending the Russia-Ukraine war, but said that deep hostility between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to make peace talks difficult.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “Zelensky and Putin hate each other, and it makes it very difficult. But I think we’re getting very close to getting a settlement.” He added, “I think that we have a good chance of getting it settled.”
A day earlier Trump said that he had recently spoken to Putin and asked him to temporarily stop attacks on Kyiv and other cities because of severe winter conditions. “I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting. “A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call,’ and he did it,” he added.
Explaining his request, Trump pointed to extreme cold affecting the region. “It’s extraordinary cold, record-setting cold,” he said, comparing it to weather conditions in Washington.
The developments come ahead of US-mediated peace talks expected over the weekend. Meanwhile, Russia has invited Zelensky to Moscow for negotiations.
