President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed down to Florida for Thanksgiving. Here are some of his key quotes on the Russia-Ukraine war.
On Zelensky visiting the White House:
“He would like to come, but I think we should get a deal done first.”
“We’re having good talks. We started with Russia. We’re having some talks with Russia. Ukraine is doing well. I think they’re pretty happy about it. I’d like to see it end. And we won’t know for a little while, but we’re making progress.”
On the specific details yet to be resolved in the peace plan:
“It’s just the standard things. People [are] starting to realize it’s a good deal for both parties. They’ve got to stop the war, they’re losing a lot of people, a lot of soldiers, mostly soldiers.”
On security guarantees for Ukraine:
“We’re working that out with Europe. Europe will be largely involved in that. We’re working that out with Europe. Europe really wants to see it end if possible.”
On his original 28-point draft plan:
“That was just a map. All that was is a map. That was not a plan. It was a concept. And from there, they’re taking each one of the 28 points and then you get down to 22 points. A lot of them resolved and actually very favorably. So, we’ll see what happens.”
On the division of territory between Ukraine and Russia:
“The way it’s going, if you look, it’s just moving in one direction. So eventually, that land that over the next couple of months might be gotten by Russia anyway. So do you want to fight and lose another 50-60,000 people, or do you want to do something now? In some cases, the land is going in the other direction. So they’re negotiating. They’re trying to get it done.”
“You want to have a border. You can’t have a border that goes through a highway or a border that goes through the middle of a town. It doesn’t work. It’s a long, complicated process. They’re very, very sad because so many people are being killed.”
On what happens next:
“They’re going to keep talking. They’re talking to Russia now. Steve Witkoff is going over, maybe with Jared [Kushner]. I’m not sure about Jared going, but he’s involved in the process. Smart guy. And they’re going to be meeting with President Putin, I believe, next week in Moscow.”
On concessions from Russia:
“They’re making concessions. Their big concession is they stop fighting and they don’t take any more land.”
On a deadline for the peace plan:
“I don’t have a deadline. You know what the deadline for me is? When it’s over. And I think everybody’s tired of fighting at this moment. They’re losing too many people.”
On the leaked Witkoff call with top Kremlin officials:
“I haven’t heard it, no, but that’s a standard thing, because he’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a dealmaker does. You got to say, ‘Look they want this. You got to convince them of this.’ That’s a very standard form of negotiation. I haven’t heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he’s saying the same thing to Ukraine because each party has to give and take.”