Donald Trump has urged the Ukraine and Russia to “stop the madness” in a social media post on Sunday. He said it was Vladimir Putin’s “time to act”, insisting a settlement should be reached.
Posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse.
“I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”
The US president-elect’s statement came the day after he held talks in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French president Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Zelensky said his discussions with Mr Trump on Sunday were “constructive”. After the meetings, he took to the messaging app Telegram to say his country needs “robust peace, that Russians will not destroy within a few years”.
He explained that negotiations with Mr Putin’s country must be upheld by “effective peace guarantees”, adding that Ukrainians “want peace more than anyone else. Russia brought war to our land”.
Speaking to NBC’s Meet The Press, Mr Trump said he was actively working to end the near three-year conflict. He also emphasised his openness to reducing US military aid to Ukraine, saying the country should “possibly” prepare for cuts.
Similarly, he addressed European leaders’ fears the US would quit NATO if other countries failed to increase their spending contributions. However, when speaking to the US news organisation, he said: “If they’re paying their bills, and if I think they’re treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely I’d stay with NATO.”
The president-elect chose to not comment on if he had spoken to Mr Putin since winning the US election in November, saying he didn’t want “to do anything that could impede the negotiation”.
