Trump claims he is prepared to meet with Putin "immediately" in order to ensure that the war in Ukraine ends.

 

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 23 (Reuters) -On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated his intention to work toward reducing nuclear weapons and stated his desire to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible in order to secure an end to the war with Ukraine.

 

 

Trump repeatedly stated in the lead-up to his election victory on November 5 that he would have an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on his first day in office, if not earlier. Now, his advisors acknowledge that it will take months to end the war.

 

 

Trump said, "I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to get that war ended," via video link to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday after his return to the White House.

 

 

"And that's not from an economic or other perspective. From the perspective that millions of lives are being squandered... It's a massacre. And we must put an end to that war.

 

 

Later in the day, Trump told reporters at the White House that he was prepared to meet with Putin as soon as possible to put an end to what he described as a pointless war.

 

 

"I've heard that Putin wants to see me, so we'll head out as soon as we can. "I'd meet right away," Trump declared. "Soldiers are dying on the battlefield every day that we don't get to see each other."

 

 

Trump went on to say that Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, had informed him that he was prepared to negotiate an end to the conflict.

 

 

Although he did not provide specifics, Trump informed attendees in Davos that U.S. efforts to secure a peace settlement were now hopefully underway. In February 2022, Ukraine was invaded by Russia.

 

 

Trump earlier this week threatened to impose tariffs on Russian imports and "high levels" of sanctions on Russia if Moscow failed to reach a settlement.

 

 

Trump also expressed his desire to work toward reducing nuclear weapons to the audience on Thursday, adding that he believed China and Russia might be in favor of doing the same.

 

 

Denuclearization is something we'd like to see, and I'll tell you that President Putin thought it was a great idea to drastically reduce nuclear. And I believe that China would have joined us, and we would have persuaded the rest of the world to follow," Trump stated.

 

 

In his conflict with Ukraine, Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons. When New START, the final arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, expires on February 5, 2026, Putin has been updating his nuclear arsenal and has turned down discussions with Washington to replace it.

 

 

Despite his 2023 suspension of the agreement that binds Russia and the United States to deploying 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads on 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarines, and bombers, U.S. officials stated in November that Putin is still operating within the parameters established by the treaty.