US President-elect Donald Trump delivers a speech at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, USA on December 16, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump the Russian president said on Sunday Vladimir Putin has expressed interest in meeting on the issue of war with Ukraine.
“President Putin said he wants to meet with me as soon as possible,” Trump said during his speech at Turning Point’s America Fest convention. “So we have to wait for it, but we have to end this war. This war is terrible, terrible.”
Trump, who is expected to return to the White House in January, had previously said on the campaign trail that if elected he could end the war “in 24 hours.” The President-Elect recently criticized the political change by the president Joe Biden This allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to carry out attacks on Russian territory.
The president-elect also recently said Ukraine will “possibly” receive less military aid as soon as he takes office. Ukraine relies heavily on military, financial and humanitarian assistance from its international partners to enable it to continue to function as a state and fight against Russia after nearly three years of war.
“The number of soldiers killed…” Trump said on Sunday. “It’s a flat plane and the bullets are shooting and there are powerful bullets, powerful weapons, and the only thing that can stop them is a human body.”
Earlier this month, Trump met with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris together with the French President Emmanuel Macron before the Reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. After the meeting, Trump called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
– NBC News contributed reporting.
