Washington: Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated he had a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, indicating that Zelenskyy is open to negotiating a deal. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday (local time), Trump mentioned that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, was in the U.S., although he did not provide details on the discussions.
“I think he [Zelenskyy] is ready to make a deal. And I believe President Putin is also prepared to negotiate, which could stop the killing of thousands of young people every week. There’s been a lot of positive dialogue regarding Ukraine and Russia,” Trump noted.
He expressed that the U.S. is eager for the Russia-Ukraine conflict to end quickly to prevent further loss of life on both sides. “We have an envoy from Russia, and discussions are ongoing. We want this conflict to cease as soon as possible due to the significant number of casualties — mainly soldiers from both Ukraine and Russia, with losses sometimes reaching 2,000-3,000 per week. We’re actively working to resolve this. Europe has struggled with negotiating with President Putin, but I am confident in my ability to succeed,” Trump added.
Meanwhile, Russia is currently undergoing one of its largest military conscription rounds in several years. President Vladimir Putin has initiated an expansion of Russia’s military amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as reported by CNN on Wednesday. He signed a decree to start the latest phase of the country’s semiannual conscription, which began on Tuesday and will continue until July 15. This conscription drive aims to recruit 160,000 men aged 18 to 30, marking an increase of 10,000 from last year’s spring effort and more than 15,000 compared to three years ago, according to TASS, a Russian state media outlet.
