United States President Donald Trump has saidthat they are close to a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He also added that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later in the day, Reuters reports.
“I believe they are at a point now where they can come together and make a deal. And if they don’t, they are fools,” he said, referring to the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Mr Trump repeated his oft-stated belief that both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelensky were close to a deal, saying that “too many people are dying” from the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done. And if they don’t, they’re stupid – that goes for both of them,” said Mr Trump during a short chat with a moderator following his speech.
Both leaders had backed away from an agreement before, but a deal was now “reasonably close,” Mr Trump added.
Earlier, he slammed NATO, claiming the US had not benefitted much from the transatlantic military alliance, which secured Washington’s place at the head of the table in the region after World War II.
“What does the United States get out of all of this work, all of this money, other than death, destruction and massive amounts of cash going to people who don’t appreciate what we do?” he said.
