U.S. President Donald Trump continues to plow ahead with statements that he wants to end the war in Ukraine, though it’s not clear that his Russian counterpart is on the same page as to how that could happen.
Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine, a move that comes as the country marks three years of conflict.
While speaking to reporters during Macron’s visit, Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war, noting he had asked the Russian leader that question.
Yet Putin said Monday he has not discussed resolving the conflict in Ukraine in detail with Trump, and neither did Russian and American negotiating teams when they met last week in Saudi Arabia.
In remarks broadcast on state television, Putin also said Russia does not rule out European countries participating in a peace settlement.
Putin and senior Russian officials had previously indicated they will not accept Western forces in Ukraine.
Ukraine has faced three years of all-out war since Russia launched its wide-ranging invasion of its neighbour on Feb. 24, 2022. The war has killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians and upended daily life there ever since.