President Trump told CBS News on Wednesday that he remains committed to pursuing a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, despite mounting uncertainty over the prospect of face-to-face talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Mr. Trump characterized his position as both realistic and optimistic, and said he is closely monitoring how both leaders are handling this crossroads in the negotiations.
“I’ve been watching it, I’ve been seeing it, and I’ve been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Mr. Trump said in a phone interview. “Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. But something is going to happen. We are going to get it done.”
The president’s comments come as Russia continues to strike Ukraine. Late last month, Russia carried out a massive drone and missile attack against Ukraine’s capital, killing at least 15 people, including four children, according to a city official.
Mr. Trump said he is unhappy with the carnage but will keep pushing for a peace agreement.
“I think we’re going to get it all straightened out,” he said.
“Frankly, the Russia one, I thought, would have been on the easier side of the ones I’ve stopped, but it seems to be something that’s a little bit more difficult than some of the others,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Trump told reporters that he was watching as Putin joined the leaders of China and North Korea for a grand military parade in Beijing.
“I understand the reason they were doing it, and they were hoping I was watching, and I was watching,” Mr. Trump said. “My relationship with all of them is very good. We’re going to find out how good it is over the next week or two.”
Mr. Trump also told CBS News on Wednesday that his approach to many diplomatic negotiations, be it with Russia and Ukraine or with other warring nations, is to bring together key leaders into a room and have them broker an agreement in real time, often with his guidance on the transaction — and to not write off any possibility before that happens.
That approach, he said, demands patience, even when a quick resolution is sought, but he believes it has paid off in other peace agreements this year.
When asked whether he sometimes must “wait things out,” Mr. Trump replied, “Well, you have to do that.”
“We’ve had some very good days, fortunately, and once I get them in a room together, or get them at least speaking together, they seem to work out. We’ve saved millions of lives.”
Last month, ahead of his closely watched meeting with Putin in Alaska, Mr. Trump told reporters, “All I want to do is set the table for the next meeting, which should happen shortly.”
Beyond the Russia-Ukraine war, Mr. Trump has claimed in recent weeks that he should be credited for ending six or seven wars during this term and that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. White House officials have pointed to a list of seven conflicts the president is referencing: Israel and Iran, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
Some foreign policy analysts have criticized Mr. Trump’s claim, saying that many of those conflicts remain unresolved or were not full-scale wars. Or they contended that Mr. Trump was not a central force in the discussions.
Several Trump allies have told CBS News that Mr. Trump maintains that the work done by him and his administration has been crucial in furthering those negotiations.
“A lot of times, they’re fighting each other for so long,” Mr. Trump told CBS News. “They’re fighting each other so long, they don’t even think in terms of peace. It just becomes a way of life. And when I get them together, I get the people in the room, I’m able to convince them. ‘Let’s go. Let’s make peace. It’s enough, already. You’ve lost enough lives.'”
Mr. Trump told CBS News that he is not seeking the Nobel Peace Prize. The recipient of the 2025 prize is expected to be announced next month.
“I have nothing to say about it,” Mr. Trump said. “All I can do is put out wars.” He added, “I don’t seek attention. I just want to save lives.”
