Donald Trump demanded that Ukraine come to the table and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.
The U.S. president revealed in a post to Truth Social on Sunday that Putin wants to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Turkey to finally negotiate an end to the war.
He said that Moscow is not open to a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine and said he doubts Zelensky ever wanted to make a deal with Putin.
‘Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible,’ Trump wrote on his social media account.
Trump is heading to the Middle East next week for his first trip to that region since the start of his second term.
In his post, Trump railed against Zelensky after the two clashed in their Oval Office meeting earlier this year.
The Republican president has always been vocal about his opposition to the mass amounts of aid that his predecessor President Joe Biden sent to Ukraine to assist in its war efforts with Russia.
President Donald Trump says that President Vladimir Putin wants to meet in Turkey on Thursday for talks on ending the war with Ukraine
Trump demanded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday
Trump says if there is no end in sight to the conflict, he is less inclined to want to keep supporting the European nation.
‘I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America.’
‘HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!’ Trump demanded on Truth Social.
After the contentious Oval Office meeting with Trump, it was unclear if the U.S. president would continue to try and facilitate a peace agreement with Ukraine and Russia.
Trump claims to have a good working relationship with Putin.
On Sunday, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova told ABC New host Martha Raddatz that the country is focused on continuing to work with the U.S. on negotiating, claiming Zelensky is still ‘friends’ with Trump.
‘We will focus on the future,’ Markarova said.
‘And sometimes friends can disagree,’ she added. ‘But that’s disagreement among friends.’
Zelensky and Trump had a contentious Oval Office meeting on February 28, 2025 where the U.S. president said his Ukrainian counterpart should be more appreciative for the monetary aid and military weapons assistance