Trump's mixed messages: Zelensky shock and Putin trust
- Did I say that? I can't believe I would say that - this was Donald Trump's reaction to a journalist's question about whether he still considers Zelensky a "dictator".
On Friday, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, visited the White House. Even before the start of their private talks, the politicians found time to take a few questions from the journalists present.
Donald Trump stated, among other things, that Ukraine "can forget" about joining NATO. The American president also assessed that Putin would keep his word and not break any potential agreement. - We have to make a deal first. Right now we don't have a deal. We have Russia. We have Ukraine. I think we're very well advanced. I think Russia has been acting very well - Trump reported.
However, he noted that any talk of sending peacekeeping forces can only happen after a deal is reached, which he believes is more difficult than deploying troops.
Trump on Putin
When asked if he trusts Putin, Trump stated that he follows the principle "trust but verify," but emphasised that he is confident any agreement, whatever it may be, will hold.
"I’ve spoken to him, I’ve known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax (ed. - Russiagate) together. They had to put up with that, too. They put up with a lot," Trump said about Putin.
Trump also revealed that he has equally great relations with Volodymyr Zelensky. When asked if he still considers the Ukrainian president a dictator, Trump feigned surprise and replied:
- Did I say that? I can't believe I would say that - he pointed out. He admitted that for a while his relations with Zelensky were difficult because he wanted - as Europe allegedly does - to recover the money invested in aid to Ukraine.
