Russia is ready, but Ukraine is difficult: Trump on the state of war talks

US President Donald Trump has said that he believes Russia is ready for a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine. At the same time, he stressed that establishing a dialogue with Volodymyr Zelenskyy proved to be more difficult than expected.

He said this during a conversation with journalists in the Oval Office.

According to Trump, the United States probably already has a preliminary agreement with Russia, but the key issue is Ukraine's consent. He expressed hope that the Ukrainian president would agree to the terms of the deal.

«I think Russia is ready. Many people have said that Russia is ready to do anything. But I think we have an agreement with Russia. We need to reach an agreement with Zelenskyy. And I hope that Zelenskyy... I thought it would be easier to negotiate with him, but so far it has been more difficult. But it's okay, it's okay. But I think we have an agreement with both sides. I hope they will accept it. We are spending a lot of money. But this is about humanity,» Donald Trump said.

In addition, he again criticised Joe Biden's administration for excessive financial support for Ukraine. He said that hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on helping Kyiv and hinted that these funds would be better invested domestically.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump commented on a recent statement by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which the Ukrainian leader stressed that Ukraine would never legally recognise the annexation of Crimea.

In response, Donald Trump asked a rhetorical question — why the peninsula was not fought for 11 years ago, when, according to the US president, «it was given away without a shot being fired».

According to the New York Post, citing anonymous sources among US officials, the United States is seeking to achieve a complete cessation of hostilities in the near future.

At the same time, Washington is proposing a de facto freeze of the conflict, so that the occupied regions remain under Russian control. The US is considering recognising Russia's jurisdiction over Crimea as part of a larger peace deal.

Kyiv was expected to provide an official response to these proposals during the London meeting on 23 April. If an agreement was reached between Ukraine, the United States and European countries, the arrangements could be handed over to the Russian side for further negotiations.

However, on the day of the talks, it became known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would not arrive in London. This led to the postponement of the meeting between the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany. Instead, talks were held at the level of senior officials of the five countries.

According to Sky News, «the decrease in the level of diplomacy» is due to the increased pressure from Donald Trump's team on Kyiv and Moscow to achieve a ceasefire.

However, it should be noted that during a meeting with international partners in London, the Ukrainian delegation voiced an unchanged position on the settlement of the war. In particular, that Ukraine is open to negotiations, but not on the terms of surrender.

Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko also stated that Ukrainian society will not accept the option of a «frozen conflict» presented as peace, and will not recognise the annexation of Crimea.