Trump says meeting with Putin possible after inauguration
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said again that he is eager to see negotiations with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine begin soon after he returns to the White House but gave no specifics on when they would take place, RFE/RL reported.
Trump said he wants to see negotiations soon because “Russia is losing a lot of young people and so is Ukraine.”
Trump, who spoke with reporters at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, didn’t say whether or how soon he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin but said such a meeting would not be appropriate until after he is inaugurated on January 20.
"I can't tell you that, but I know Putin would like to meet," Trump said.
At the end of December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no preconditions for a meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents.
The president-elect said during his election campaign he could end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. At the news conference Trump said he hoped to end the fighting within six months.
"I hope long before six months," Trump said, when asked if he could solve the war within half a year.