Photo: Alamy
President Trump on Thursday weighed in on the ongoing war in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine, just hours after he condemned Russia for launching missiles in Kyiv.
During a bilateral luncheon with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, the president was asked about whether his administration was considering sanctions on Russia amid the ongoing violence, even as the U.S. has been hard at work to secure a ceasefire in the conflict overseas.
“We are thinking very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table, we’re waiting a long time,” Trump told the press.
He continued, “We’re going to get peace. We want to save 5,000 young people.”
The president explained that “5,000 young people a week” are perishing in the war in Eastern Europe. He noted that when the war initially erupted between Russia and Ukraine, he was upset about the money being blown on the conflict, but now, it’s the killing that concerns him most.
“I don’t like that it takes long at all,” he said. “…I think they both want to make peace, I believe so.”
However, Trump noted that there was “a lot of bad blood, a lot of distrust” on the parts of both Russia and Ukraine.
When asked for a deadline about when a peace deal should be achieved, Trump answered, “I have my own deadline and we want it to be fast…the prime minister’s helping us and he wants it to be fast too.”
PM Store briefly commented on the situation, as well, explaining that he stood behind Trump’s efforts to bring peace to the war-torn region of Europe, offering him a “salute” on attempts to bring the conflict to an end.
“We need to have a ceasefire and save lives,” he said.
Store vowed to “work together” to achieve that goal and described it as “a critical moment.”
Early Thursday morning, Trump slammed Russia’s missile strikes against Kyiv, setting the stage for the media’s questions hours later.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!” he wrote on Truth Social, per RSBN.
