President Trump Plans To Hold Talks About Ukraine War Again

JAKARTA - United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he plans to hold talks on war in Ukraine in the coming days, after a summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin in August failed to achieve a breakthrough.

President Trump is frustrated by his inability to stop fighting, which began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after he initially expected to end the war quickly when he took office last January.

A White House official said President Trump was expected to speak by telephone on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Separately, the French presidency said on Wednesday a number of European leaders, including President Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron, would speak with President Trump on Thursday afternoon.

The phone call is expected to follow a virtual meeting on Thursday, hosted by France, which was attended by about 30 countries to discuss their latest efforts in providing security support to Ukraine after the peace agreement with Russia was reached.

European leaders are also expected to denounce Moscow's reluctance to negotiate.

President Putin showed little interest in ending the war, after with President Trump voiced optimism about the progress achieved at their meeting in Anchorage on August 15.

"I have no message for President Putin," President Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.

"He knows where I am and he will make decisions in any way. Whatever the decision, we will be happy or unhappy, and if we are not happy, you will see the progress," he said.

The Republican leader did not explain his intentions, but he has discussed the possibility of further imposing sanctions on Russia.

President Trump also said the war would be resolved "in any way", but he didn't realize it would be very difficult to end it.

"I think it will be a lot easier," said President Trump.

"I think it will be in the middle, maybe one of the easiest. Sometimes we never know in war," he said.