US President Donald Trump announced on the evening of February 12 that he had agreed with illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. He also spoke about helping Ukraine and its participation in the negotiation process to end the war against Russia.
Points of attention
- President Trump promises to continue aid to Ukraine to prevent Putin from winning the war.
- Negotiations between Trump and Putin are planned in Saudi Arabia, with the hope of achieving a ceasefire in the near future.
- Trump emphasizes the need for Ukraine to secure their money and resources in exchange for aid.
Trump promised to continue aid to Ukraine
Trump assured that he would continue to provide aid to Ukraine, because otherwise "Putin would think he won."
And, frankly, we will do this as long as necessary, because we don't want anything else to happen, but President Putin wants peace right now.
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Speaking to reporters after his phone calls with Putin and Zelensky, President Trump said that a date for his meeting with Putin has not yet been set, but that meetings will take place "here and there." The first talks will likely take place in Saudi Arabia in the "not too distant future."
The first time we will meet is in Saudi Arabia, let's see if we can do something. But we want to end this war. This war is a disaster, a really terrible one.
Trump said that from a phone call with Putin, which lasted more than an hour this morning Washington time, he learned that Putin is "very determined."
Trump believes that both Zelensky and Putin want the war to end in a lasting peace and not resume for some time.
As President Putin said, he wants this to end. He doesn't want to end this and then go back to fighting in six months. And I think we'll probably achieve a ceasefire at some point in the not-too-distant future.
When asked whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would participate in the meeting, Trump replied: "We'll have the first meeting first. And then we'll see what we can do about the second meeting."
When asked if Trump had committed to going to Ukraine, he said, "No." When asked if he would go, he said, "I would consider going, no problem."
When asked whether President Zelensky would stay out of these negotiations, Trump said he did not think so.
No, it's not like that while he's there. But at some point, there also needs to be elections.
Another question about whether he sees Ukraine as an equal member of this peace process made President Trump think.
That's an interesting question. I think they need to make peace. Their people are being killed and they need to make peace. I think it was an unnecessary war, they shouldn't have gotten into it. And they need to make peace, that's what I think.
Asked whether Ukraine would have to cede territory, Trump replied: "They'll have to do what needs to be done."
Trump added that the previous administration "senselessly" transferred money to Ukraine, and in return, his administration plans to receive guarantees of the return of its money.
Our money will be secured. They have rare earths, they have oil, gas, and much more, and we ask that our money be secured, and the Ukrainians agree to that.
According to President Trump, Ukraine has received $350 billion in aid from the United States.
According to the Pentagon, as of mid-January, since the beginning of the previous Joe Biden administration, that is, since January 2021, the United States has allocated more than $66.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
We gave them, I think, $350 billion — that's a real number. You don't hear that number. And Europe gave, I think, $100 billion, and they did it in the form of a loan.
According to the same Pentagon data, the total assistance of the 50 countries of the Ramstein Group, which includes European NATO countries, since its first meeting at Ramstein Air Base in April 2022 has allocated more than $126 billion to support Ukraine's security.
Trump added that his administration wants to make sure that aid to Ukraine is not free. He said that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant is in Ukraine to receive “security” in exchange for aid.
Regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO, Trump referred to a speech by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at NATO headquarters in Brussels, who called the idea of Ukraine's accession to the Alliance "unlikely" and "impractical."
They've been saying for a long time that Ukraine shouldn't join NATO, and that's fine with me. I just want to stop the war.
When asked about the return of territories, Trump again referred to Defense Secretary Hegseth and other unnamed people who believe that it is "unrealistic" to expect the return of control over Ukrainian territories to the state of 2014. However, Trump added that "some of them will return."
