Trump blames Zelenskyy for lack of peace deal, praises Putin for cheap oil

Journalists asked Trump whether he would send his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff to hold new talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The US president did not answer the question directly, instead blaming Kyiv.

"Well, I think Russia would like to make a deal. But as I've said, this is something that could have been solved many times, but for whatever reason, Zelenskyy does not want to make a deal," Trump said.

Trump cited statistics, claiming that one side had one million more soldiers than the other. In his view, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have reached an agreement much earlier.

"It would have been smart. If he could have made a deal two years ago, he would have a lot better. He could have made a much better deal two years ago," the US president said.

Speaking about his recent phone call with Putin, Trump insisted that the Russian leader "would very much like to settle the situation." He separately praised the Kremlin for its fuel supplies.

"Look, he's freeing up a lot of oil for the world. A good thing. And, by the way, at a very low price," Trump said.

Trump's claims that Putin wants to settle the war contradict the Kremlin's own position. During the same call, Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the Russian leader told Trump that Russia's war objectives remained unchanged and that it would not immediately resume negotiations with Ukraine.

After this conversation, the two sides agreed to allow Russian diesel to be sold on global markets. Zelenskyy called the deal "Alaska 2.0," after which Trump said it was time for Ukraine to have a new president. Elon Musk backed him, writing that Zelenskyy had "gone too far."