'Could end in World War III': Trump on Russia-Ukraine conflict
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has warned that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a global war. He said that 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, were killed last month alone in the conflict, expressing frustration over the continued bloodshed. "I'd like to see the killing stop...I would love to see it stop," Trump said at a press conference at the White House.
Warning
'President extremely frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine'
He warned that if the bloodshed continued, it could end up in another world war. "And I said that the other day. I said, Everybody keeps playing games like this. We will end up in a third world war, and we don't want to see that happen," he added. Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the president was"extremely frustrated" with both Russia and Ukraine over the slow progress toward ending the ongoing war.
Peace efforts
US's role in Ukraine conflict and peace negotiations
During the interaction, Trump also emphasized the US is not directly involved in the war, but is negotiating to end it because both Ukraine and Europe want American involvement. He said in the past, the US gave some "$300-350 billion" to Ukraine and got nothing in return. And "I ended up getting rare earth in return even though I didn't spend money." Now, he said, the US sells weapons at full price to NATO, which probably distributes them to Ukraine.
Meeting
Trump unsure about US attending next meeting
Trump was also noncommittal about potential US participation in a meeting of senior officials from Ukraine, Germany, France and the UK planned for this Saturday. "They want me to attend. They want us to attend, and we'll be attending the meeting on Saturday in Europe if we think there's a good chance, and we don't want to waste a lot of time. We think it's negative. We want it to get settled. We want to save a lot of lives."
Proposal submitted
Ukraine's proposal and pressure for peace deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the US is pushing for Ukraine to withdraw troops from Donetsk to create a "free economic zone" in Kyiv-controlled areas. Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine has submitted a 20-point set of counter-proposals to the US as part of ongoing discussions on security guarantees. He stressed any territorial concessions would require approval through a national referendum.