US President Donald Trump on Saturday played down his repeated claim of solving the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours and said that he was ‘being sarcastic’ when he made that statement.
Still trying to crack the deal with Ukraine and Russia 54 days into his time in the Oval Office, Trump, during an interview with the “Full Measure” television program, said, “Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that,” Trump said.
“What I really mean is I’d like to get it settled, and I think, I think I’ll be successful,” he added.
Earlier, during the run-up to the White House, Trump had said, “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done – I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
“That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president,” Trump had said during his September debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
“If I win, when I’m president-elect, and what I’ll do is I’ll speak to one, I’ll speak to the other. I’ll get them together,” he had added.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the ceasefire proposal by the United States but argued that some issues still needed to be addressed.
“We agree with the proposal for a ceasefire (with Ukraine) to cease hostilities, but we proceed from the fact that this ceasefire should lead to an enduring peace and should remove the root causes of this crisis,” Putin said during a news conference.
Earlier, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris rebuked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of lacking gratitude for US military support. The US has since voted alongside Russia at the UN, diverging from European allies by not explicitly supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Trump has also faced backlash for his frequent phone calls to Putin, signaling a potential shift in US-Russia relations and a rollback of sanctions imposed under President Joe Biden.