WASHINGTON, Oct 18: Following a lengthy White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine and Russia to “stop where they are” and end the war.
In a Truth Social post, Trump suggested both sides claim victory and freeze the battle lines, signaling a return to his earlier position that Ukraine may need to concede territory to achieve peace.
Trump’s comments came a day after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and ahead of a planned meeting with him in Budapest.
He also hinted at excluding Zelenskyy from those talks, suggesting a “double meeting” could be more productive. Zelenskyy, when asked about Trump’s remarks, said it was time for a ceasefire and talks but avoided directly addressing the land concession issue.
Trump also appeared to walk back previous openness to providing Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles, citing the need to preserve US supplies.
This shift followed Putin’s warning that arming Ukraine with Tomahawks would harm US-Russia relations.
Zelenskyy had proposed a drone-for-missile deal but acknowledged Trump hadn’t definitively rejected or accepted the offer.
This meeting marked the fifth between Trump and Zelenskyy since Trump returned to office.
Though Trump previously expressed support for Ukraine’s full territorial recovery, his recent stance leans toward freezing the conflict as it stands.
Despite frustration with Putin, Trump believes he can manage the Russian leader and remains confident in his ability to broker peace, though previous diplomatic efforts have yielded little progress.
Putin has shown no interest in direct talks with Zelenskyy, while Russia continues its military offensive. (AP)
