President Donald Trump has set a personal deadline for a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, he told reporters Thursday.
“I have my own deadline,” Trump said. “I have my own deadline, and we want it to be fast.”
The president greeted Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House just after noon, then spoke with reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting.
Ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a Trump campaign promise, and he has repeatedly stated that the war would never have happened if he were president from 2021 through 2024. But making a peace deal a reality has proven elusive.
Trump and his administration have sought to reach a deal to end the war, but Russian officials have continued to drag their feet on those efforts. While Ukrainian leaders have also pushed for a better framework, Trump has appeared more willing to punish them than Russian leaders for the prolonged conflict.
On Wednesday, Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for making remarks about Crimea, the Ukrainian territory Russia annexed in 2014, saying they were “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia.”
But overnight, Russia launched its worst attack on Kyiv in months, which seemed to change Trump’s tone.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” the president posted on Truth Social. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
He followed that up with remarks ahead of the meeting with Norway’s prime minister.
“We are thinking very strongly that they both want peace,” Trump said. “But they have to get to the table. We are waiting a long time. We have to get them to the table.”
Trump acknowledged that there was hatred and bad blood on both sides, and said that 5,000 people a week are dying in “that ridiculous war.”
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Whether or not Trump can negotiate peace at all remains to be seen.
He previously spoke in late March about setting a “psychological deadline” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire, but has not been able to obtain such an agreement to date.