Trump said Putin is tired and it's up to him to intervene

US President Donald Trump continues to believe that Vladimir Putin is ready to conclude a peace agreement regarding Ukraine. Trump stated his conviction in an interview with Bret Baier of Fox News.

This is how Trump commented on the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, expressing his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Trump, his conversation with the Ukrainian leader was "difficult" and he was not satisfied with what Zelensky told him. Trump stated that the latter did not contribute to improving the situation. He also said that Ukraine doesn't have "cards" that could help in the negotiations.

Speaking about the Russians, Trump agreed that Vladimir Putin became an "obstacle" to a peace agreement when the Russian president chose to ignore the talks in Istanbul. Despite this, Trump reiterated that he believes Putin is "tired" of the protracted conflict and wants to appear strong despite the difficult circumstances.

He also said that he believes it is important to organise his personal meeting with Vladimir Putin. He emphasised that such a meeting with the Russian president is, in his opinion, necessary.

When Trump touched on the topic of sanctions against Russia, he noted that despite earlier threats to impose sanctions if there was no progress in peace talks, he would prefer to avoid them.

I wouldn't want to impose sanctions against Russia," Trump said, recalling that he recently took similar steps against Venezuela.