Trump on Ukraine Conflict: 'Russia Should Make a Deal'

Speaking at the G7 summit in France, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his previous claims that he had personally helped bring an end to eight wars and expressed confidence that progress could also be made on the issue of Ukraine.

"I settled eight wars. I thought this one would be the easiest to settle. Yes, I will do everything I can,” Trump said during a press conference at the summit.

 "Look, Russia should make a deal. Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine. Last month, they lost 35,000 soldiers between the two; it’s on a monthly basis. They averaged 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, young,beautiful people, and it’s crazy what’s going on there. But we had a meeting, and we’ll see… I spoke with President Putin on Sunday," Trump added. 

Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to stop wars around the world. He paid particular attention to the conflict in Ukraine, arguing that if he had remained president of the United States, the conflict would never have begun.

Trump later credited himself with helping resolve what he described as "eight wars,” including conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Pakistan and India, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as the war in the Gaza Strip. He also stressed that such settlements would not have been achieved without the threat of imposing tariffs.

Zelensky Meets With U. S. Delegation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared photographs of a meeting with the American delegation, publishing the images on Telegram.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Accompanying Zelensky was Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council and head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov. Representing the United States were President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"It is always important to coordinate positions,” Zelensky wrote alongside the photographs.

Earlier, the Kremlin responded to Zelensky's reported invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G7 summit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no such proposal had been conveyed to Moscow through official channels.

Focus Shifts to Ukraine After Iran Agreement

On the night of May 15, Iran and the United States, with mediation from Pakistan, reached an agreement regarding a conflict that had escalated earlier this year. The official signing of a memorandum of understanding is scheduled for June 19 in Geneva.

Following the end of that conflict, Trump stated that the United States would now turn its attention to resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said describing the United States as a mediator in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict represents an "oversimplification.” She noted that American special envoys are currently focused primarily on developments in the Middle East.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also stated that discussions with Washington regarding a settlement in Ukraine have become circular.

According to sources in Zelensky's office cited by Ukrainska Pravda, Kyiv remains skeptical about the United States serving as a mediator in the negotiation process. The sources said that after Trump returned to power, Washington shifted from the role of Ukraine's ally to that of a mediator in the conflict.

Meanwhile, according to Politico, European allies of Ukraine are concerned that Trump could once again take personal control of the settlement process and begin negotiations with Russia without active participation from the European Union.