Trump: After talks with Putin, I thought we had agreed on ceasefire in Ukraine

He made the comments in an interview with Newsmax, according to Ukrinform.

“I talked to Putin a lot, and I think we had a great conversation. Then I go home and I see that a bomb was dropped in Kyiv and some of the various cities, killing people. I say, you know, I just had this great conversation with him, and it looked like we were going to — I thought we had it worked out three different times, and maybe he wants to try and take the whole thing. I think it’s going to be very hard for him,” Trump said.

Trump was asked if his opinion of Putin has changed over the past few months. 

“He’s obviously a tough cookie, so it hasn’t changed in that way. But I’m surprised. We had numerous good conversations where we could have ended this thing, and all of a sudden bombs start flying,” Trump said.

He also confirmed that the U.S. would impose sanctions on Russia if it refuses to agree to a ceasefire deal. However, he added that Putin is “pretty good with sanctions.” “He knows how to avoid sanctions.”

Trump again repeated claims that Russia’s war against Ukraine is “Biden’s war.”

“This is [former President Joe] Biden’s war. This is not my war. This war would have never happened. It didn’t happen for four years. It was never even talked about other than anything I had conversations with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Trump said. “It was the apple of his eye, but he wasn’t going to go into Ukraine. And I will say this, that’s a war that should end. That’s a terrible war,” Trump said.

Trump recently shortened his ultimatum to Russia to ten days. If no deal is reached by then, he said, the U.S. would impose tariffs and other restrictions.

Photo: The White House