Trump says Ukraine war has 'no impact' on US, but vows to help end it
on Google
U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 16 that he would continue efforts to help end Russia's war against Ukraine, while saying the war has "no impact" on the United States.
Speaking to reporters following a bilateral meeting with the emir of Qatar, Trump said Russia should agree to a settlement when asked what a potential peace deal would look like.
"Look, Russia should make a deal," Trump said.
When asked whether Ukraine would remain a focus of his administration, Trump suggested Ukraine would take a back seat as Washington remains focused on Iran.
"Well, we're going to look. Now we focused on, we were focused on Iran," Trump said.
"It's going to be in the back, in the rearview mirror, but we'll be — I just, look, we have nothing to do with it," he added.
Trump went on to say that the war has little direct effect on the United States.
"It has no impact on us, other than we sell weapons," Trump said. "We're thousands of miles away."
Despite those comments, Trump said he remained committed to ending the war.
"But the only reason I'm in, I don't like to see 25,000 people die every month," Trump said. "Young people, they're just starting their life ... The whole thing is ridiculous."
"So yeah, I'm going to do whatever I can," he added.
Trump's comments came after his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit. The meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes, marked the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders in more than four months as Kyiv seeks to revive stalled peace talks.
During the meeting, Zelensky said he raised Ukraine's air defense needs, including the possibility of obtaining licenses to produce anti-ballistic systems and missiles domestically.
The U.S. president appeared receptive to the proposal, Zelensky said.
