US President Donald Trump has raised the possibility that his Russian President Vladimir Putin may invade other countries following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday at the end of the NATO conference in the Hague, Trump was asked whether he considered Putin an enemy and if he believed the Russian leader had territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine. “It’s possible”, Trump he replied.
“I consider him a person who I think is misguided,” the US president said.
He also acknowledged that egotiations over a ceasefire in Ukraine have proved trickier than people thought, saying that “more difficult” than expected.
Trump also revealed that Putin had called him to offer help in settling the recent Middle East conflict and to act as an go-between in the US, Israel and Iran conflict.
“(PUTIN) called the other day (and) said: ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said no, you can help me with Russia,” said Trump.
“I know one thing. He would like to settle. He would like to get out of this. It’s a mess for him. I said: ‘You help me get a settlement with you,’ and I think we’re going to be doing that soon,” Trump told reporters.
Ahead of his second term, Trump announced he would negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours. However, he told reporters on Wednesday at the NATO summit that he was being sarcastic.
He said the negotiations are “more difficult that anyone had thought”.. Putin is more difficult”.
Trump also said he had a “good” meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the margins of the summit.
He refused to be drawn on whether the US could supply Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems in future.
At the summit, all 32 NATO allies agreed to increase spending on defense to 5% of GDP within 10 years at the two-day summit in the Hague.
Trump called it a “big win” for the US and the West.
