Donald Trump calls on Russia, Ukraine to end war: ‘I say they should…’

Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday (local time) that he did not discuss the issue of Donetsk, a strategically vital region of eastern Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his meeting at the White House on October 18. After the meeting, Trump said in his post on social media: “We are not losing people, we are not spending money, we are getting money for ammunition and missiles… We made a very good deal with NATO… this is not the situation we are in.” For this. We are in this business to save thousands of lives…”

During his banter with members of the press on Air Force One, Trump said Ukraine should give up territory in the occupied Donetsk region and return to peace. “No, we’ve never discussed that. We think what they should do is just stand on the lines that are battle lines. You have one battle line now. The rest is very difficult to negotiate. If you’re going to say you’ll take this, we’ll take that. You know, there are so many different permutations,” he said.

Trump said both sides should stop the conflict and return home. “So I say they need to stop on the battle lines immediately. Go home. Stop killing people and let this be over,” he said. Trump said they could discuss further negotiations later. “Let it be cut as it is. It is being cut now. I think 78 percent of the land is already in Russia’s hands. Leave it as it is now. They may negotiate something in the future. But I said cut it off and stop the war. And I say go home. Stop fighting. Stop killing people,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, demanded that Kiev surrender full control of Donetsk, a strategically vital region in eastern Ukraine, as a condition for ending the war, the Washington Post reported Sunday. Putin has tried and failed to conquer the region for 11 years; They have been repeatedly pushed back by Ukrainian forces, who maintain deep positions in an area they believe is a major bulwark against Russia’s rapid westward advance towards their capital.

Putin’s focus on Donetsk shows that Trump, despite his optimism about achieving a deal, has not backed down from past demands that have stalemated the conflict, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive closed-door discussions. Russia or Russian-backed separatists have captured parts of the region since 2014, but have never managed to take over the entire region by force.

(Except for the title, this news has not been edited by the DNA team and is published from ANI news agency).