President Trump said Friday he believes there is a good chance of ending the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
This from newsmax.com.
He told reporters at the White House:
It’s coming to a head right now.
But he underscored the possibility of the U.S. taking “a pass” and quitting talks.
He explained:
If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re going to say you’re fools, you’re foolish, and we’re just going to take a pass.
He told reporters, however, he did not want to say he was walking away from the talks.
Trump’s comments came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier Friday, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting:
[T]he U.S. may move on from trying to secure a Russia-
Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days.
“Yeah very shortly,” Trump said when asked to confirm what Rubio had said.
No specific number of days, but quickly.
We want to get it done.
Trump refused to cast blame on either Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the February 2022 full-scale invasion of pro-Western Ukraine, or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But he insisted both sides had to make progress.
Asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin was dragging his feet on negotiations, Trump replied, “I hope not.”
Final thought: This tactic is from a master chess player. Trump knows if he walks away Zelenskyy is a dead man walking. Interesting will be to watch whether Zelenskyy realizes this.
