The American president-elect Donald Trump he said yesterday Thursday that his team has started preparing a meeting with the Russian president Vladimir Putin to “end” the war in Ukraine.

“He wants us to meet, and we have started to organize it,” said Mr. Trump during a meeting with Republican state governors at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

“President Putin wants us to meet, he’s even said so publicly, and we need to end this war (in Ukraine), which is a real nightmare,” the tycoon added.

As stated in his publication ReutersTrump has never made concrete proposals for a ceasefire or peace deal and has often criticized the large amount of military aid the United States has sent to Kiev. Trump has also frequently derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “salesman” while causing discomfort in Washington by rarely criticizing Putin – instead speaking admiringly of the Kremlin leader.

In addition to criticizing the large military aid sent to Ukraine under President Joe Biden, Trump has raised doubts about continued US participation in the Western military alliance NATO. The United States under Biden has been Ukraine’s biggest supporter during the war, providing more than $65 billion worth of military aid as of February 2022.

“I am ready for a meeting with Trump at any time,” says Putin

During his annual live televised interview, Mr. Putin assured that he is ready to meet with Mr. Trump “anytime”.

“If we meet one day with President-elect Trump, I’m sure we’ll have a lot to say” to each other, he quipped.

Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, often promised on the campaign trail that he would end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” and has called for an “immediate ceasefire” and the resumption of Moscow negotiations. -Kiev.

Europeans and Ukrainians have expressed concerns that it could force Kiev to make major concessions and deliver a geopolitical victory to the Kremlin, while under outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden, Washington was the main backer of the Ukrainian armed forces after Russian troops invaded. in February 2022, giving them 65 worth of material and more than billions of dollars.