Trump says he will back out of talks with Putin if there is no progress on ending the war
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- Mariia Khamitsevych
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8:49, 20 May, 2025
Donald Trump, photo: aa.com.trUS President Donald Trump has said that he is ready to stop participating in negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine if he does not see any real progress.
He said this in an interview with CNN after a two-hour phone conversation with Vladimir Putin.
According to Donald Trump, during the conversation, he asked the Russian leader when he would stop the bloodshed in Ukraine.
«It's a bloodbath, and I believe he wants to stop it,» the US president said.
Donald Trump noted that there are «very big egos involved» and admitted that he was ready to walk away from the talks if he could not influence the situation.
«I'm telling you, there are big egos involved, but I think something will happen. And if it doesn't, I'll just step back and they'll have to continue,» he added.
The US President also confirmed that he had discussed the possibility of a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin.
«Of course I did. I talked to him about it,» he said.
According to Donald Trump, some progress was made «during the phone call». In general, the conversation with the Russian president went «very well», and its tone and spirit «were excellent».
Trump announced the planned phone calls after Russian and Ukrainian representatives met in Istanbul for face-to-face talks. It was the first meeting between the two sides since the first weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.