Trump says meeting Ukraine’s Zelensky in Davos on Jan 22
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and US President Donald Trump giving a press conference on Dec 28 at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Trump mistakenly stated he would meet Zelensky in Davos on Jan 21, though Zelensky was in Kyiv dealing with the aftermath of Russian strikes.
- Trump believes Russia and Ukraine should make a peace deal, stating "if they don't, they're stupid – that goes for both of them," due to high casualties.
- Trump criticised NATO, questioning US benefits and suggesting the US is too distant from the Ukraine conflict to warrant involvement.
AI generated
DAVOS, Switzerland - US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine would be “stupid” not to reach a peace deal, adding that he was meeting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos on Jan 22.
Mr Trump had earlier said he was meeting Mr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum on Jan 21, despite Kyiv’s assertion that the Ukrainian leader - whose country is fighting off a Russian invasion
Addressing world leaders at the forum, the US leader had said he would met Mr Zelensky “today” and even suggested that he “might be in the audience” - but the Ukrainian leader’s adviser contradicted that claim.
Mr Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists “the president is in Kyiv”, where most of the capital was still without electricity and with residents of 4,000 buildings without heat in sub-zero temperatures after Russian strikes earlier this week.
When Mr Trump was asked by a reporter shortly thereafter if his meeting with Mr Zelensky would be on Jan 21 or 22, he said: “I believe it’s tomorrow.”
Mr Trump repeated his oft-stated belief that both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelensky were close to a deal, saying that “too many people are dying” from the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done. And if they don’t, they’re stupid – that goes for both of them,” said Mr Trump, during a short chat with a moderator following his speech.
Earlier, he slammed NATO, claiming the US had not benefited much from the transatlantic military alliance, which secured Washington’s place at the head of the table in the region after World War II.
“What does the United States get out of all of this work, all of this money, other than death, destruction and massive amounts of cash going to people who don’t appreciate what we do?” he said.
“They don’t appreciate what we do. I’m talking about NATO, I’m talking about Europe.”
He added that the US was “very far away” from Ukraine and did not need to work to secure an end to that conflict.
“We have a big beautiful ocean separating us. We have nothing to do with it,” he said.
Mr Zelensky has, meanwhile, voiced fears that Mr Trump’s push to seize Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, which has dominated the Davos forum so far, could divert focus away from Russia’s invasion of his country.
“I’m worried about any loss of focus during a full-scale war,” Mr Zelensky told reporters on Jan 20. AFP
