Trump says Russia ready for peace, but Ukraine is not

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Russia is ready to strike a peace deal, but convincing Ukraine to sign on to the agreement has “been harder” than he expected.

"I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelenskyy, and I hope that Zelenskyy, I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy. So far, it's been harder. But that's okay," Trump said in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"It's all right, but I think we have a deal with both. I hope they do it, because I'm looking to save and, you know, we spend a lot of money, but this is about a lot of humanity," he added.

Trump earlier Wednesday lashed out at Zelenskyy for remarks he made during a press conference Tuesday ruling out any possibility that Kyiv will recognize Russia's occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.

"This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" he said in a social media post.

Asked by a reporter if the deal Trump said Russia has accepted includes a recognition of the Kremlin's sovereignty over Crimea, Trump appeared to demur, saying, "everything is good."

"Look, I just want to see the war end. I don't care. If they're both happy, they both sign an agreement. I have no favorites. I don't want to have any favorites. I want to have a deal done. I want to save the lives," he said.

He further said it is "possible" that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Saudi Arabia in the middle of May but said it "most likely" will not.

"I think we'll meet with him shortly thereafter," he said.

Commenting on meetings held in London Wednesday between his Russia-Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and representatives from other nations, Trump said the sit-down "went well."

"We got to get two people, two smart people, to agree, and as soon as they agree, the killing will stop. But I think they went well, pretty well," he said.

Representatives of the UK, France, Germany and the US met in London with the Ukrainian delegation led by Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov for another round of talks following a meeting in Paris last week.