The U.S. President stated he “knows” his Russian counterpart, and discussions are “going reasonably well.”
President Trump indicated that negotiations between the U.S. and Russia regarding a proposed temporary ceasefire in Ukraine are progressing “okay” and anticipates “good” news shortly.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. and Ukraine jointly proposed a 30-day truce, with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff presenting the details to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Putin expressed openness to the idea but emphasized the need to address several issues beforehand, including the situation of Ukrainian forces currently encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region.
In an interview with Sharyl Attkisson for Full Measure, released on Friday, Trump neither confirmed nor denied direct communication with Putin regarding the initiative, describing it as a “very complex situation.”
🇺🇸 Trump believes that more information will be known about a possible ceasefire in Ukraine next Monday, March 17
The US president did not directly answer a question about what to do if Russia refuses to cease fire, but said that “it would be bad news for the world”
🟠I think…
— Olena Rohoza (@OlenaRohoza)
“Well, I don’t want to say it, but we are dealing with him, and I think it’s going reasonably well,” Trump stated. “As you know, we have a ceasefire agreement with the Ukrainians. And we are trying to get that with Russia, too.”
“I think I know him pretty well, and I think he’s going to agree,” Trump commented.
Earlier that day, Trump requested Putin to allow the “thousands of Ukrainian troops” who are “completely surrounded” to leave. Putin responded that he was “sympathetic” to Trump’s request but contended that it was impossible to order its troops to surrender.
“If they lay down their arms and surrender, [we] will guarantee them their lives and dignified treatment in accordance with international law and Russian legal norms,” Putin stated. However, the Russian President highlighted that Kiev’s forces had committed “numerous crimes against civilians” during their incursion and that Russian law enforcement was treating their actions as “terrorism.”