Trump Shares Candid Assessment of Putin Call
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was "very disappointed" with his call on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and expressed doubt over Moscow's desire to end the war in Ukraine.
"I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there. I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed," Trump told reporters after a rally in Iowa.
"I'm just saying, I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad."
Trump, who is trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, described the conflict as "Biden's war" and said he was "stuck in the middle of it".
He is due to speak early on Friday morning with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after the U.S. scrapped a planned shipment of weapons to Ukraine over concerns that domestic stockpiles were too low, a blow to Kyiv.
Ukraine is under pressure from Russian advances in the east, and its cities are pounded daily by Russian missiles and drones.
Russia has also amassed 50,000 troops near the border with Sumy ahead of what observers fear will be a major offensive.
This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
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