Washington D.C. — U.S. President Donald Trump has told Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter negotiations with Ukraine within two weeks, warning that failure to do so will force him to take a decisive step.
Speaking to CNN on Friday, Trump said he had given Putin an ultimatum to meet directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “If there is no progress in two weeks, I will decide which direction to take,” he said from the Oval Office.
Trump and Putin met last week in Alaska. After the meeting, Trump held discussions in Washington with Zelenskyy and European leaders. He has proposed a process beginning with direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv, followed by possible U.S. involvement in a three-party format.
Trump said his goal is a permanent settlement rather than a temporary ceasefire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there are no current plans for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, raising doubts about the timetable for negotiations.
Trump showed reporters photographs from his Alaska meeting with Putin and said another meeting could take place soon, possibly in Moscow. Trump also linked the outcome of the coming weeks to Putin’s potential attendance at the FIFA World Cup in the United States.
