President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “is going to have to make a deal” with Russia to end the war, arguing that negotiations will require concessions and that he may have to sit in on talks because the two leaders cannot meet face to face. He was speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
Trump’s remarks follow his Aug. 15 meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which ended without a cease-fire or concrete roadmap. A separate, much-discussed sit-down between Zelenskyy and Putin has not materialized. Moscow previously ruled out such a meeting, then floated the idea of talks in the Russian capital — a location Kyiv views as a non-starter for security reasons.
The president also renewed pressure on European allies to tighten the economic squeeze on Moscow, saying EU and NATO countries should stop buying Russian oil “immediately.” He did not announce new U.S. measures Tuesday but said Washington would keep pushing steps that cut into Russia’s wartime revenue.
In an interview with Sky News published Tuesday, Zelenskyy said he needs a clear position from Washington on sanctions and security guarantees before any end-of-war deal, and that commitments should be put into a document backed by the United States and European partners. He reiterated calls for additional air defense systems and tougher U.S. sanctions.
Kyiv has maintained that any settlement must ensure credible security guarantees and uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Kremlin, for its part, has signaled interest in negotiations on terms Ukraine rejects.
Trump said the United States would continue pressing for conditions that bring both sides back to talks. “There’s great hatred there,” he said of the two leaders, adding that mediators may be required to move negotiations forward.
This is a developing story.
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