President-elect Donald Trump said he’s ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that the pair will seek to get Russia’s war in Ukraine “over with.”
Speaking Thursday during a summit of Republican governors, Trump said a meeting was in the works.
“He wants to meet, and we are setting it up,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “President Putin wants to meet. He’s said that even publicly.”
Trump, a frequent critic of President Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine, said working with Putin to end the war was essential.
“We have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess. Soldiers are being killed by the millions,” Trump said. Though official tolls aren’t published, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that 43,000 Ukrainians had been killed in the war. As many as 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will enter its fourth year shortly after Trump takes office. Trump vowed to end military support for Ukraine while on the campaign trail.
Putin previously praised Trump for his election win, dubbing him “a brave man” and saying he looked forward to working with the president-elect to wrap up his assault on Ukraine. In his first stint in office, Trump was cozier with Putin than his predecessors, reportedly continuing to speak with the Russian leader even after he left office.
