Trump Urges Putin to ‘Stop Shooting’ and Finalize Ukraine Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately halt military operations in Ukraine and finalize a peace agreement.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Airport, Trump expressed frustration over the ongoing conflict.
“I want him to stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal,” Trump said when asked about his expectations for Putin.
Trump, who had previously boasted he could end the war within a day of assuming office, has launched several diplomatic efforts to bring peace to the region. However, those efforts have yet to achieve tangible results.
His comments followed a brief face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, their first direct encounter since a tense meeting at the White House earlier in the year.
Trump hinted that a framework for peace might already exist and urged Putin to embrace it:
“We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it.”
Following the brief discussion with Zelensky at St. Peter’s Basilica, Trump questioned whether Putin truly wanted to end the war, which has devastated eastern Ukraine and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The U.S. president also suggested that Zelensky might be willing to relinquish Crimea — the Black Sea peninsula seized by Russia in 2014 — in pursuit of a lasting settlement.
When asked whether Zelensky was prepared to “give up” Crimea, Trump responded:
“Oh, I think so.”
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has claimed the annexation of four territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, despite not fully controlling the areas.
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Trump Urges Putin to ‘Stop Shooting’ and Finalize Ukraine Peace Deal