US President Donald Trump said that he sees a real opportunity to end the war in Ukraine and that a solution to the conflict is "closer than people think", writes "Reuters".
His statement comes after telephone conversations he held over the weekend with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Trump did not give specific reasons for his optimism. Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, Russia carried out a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kiev and its surroundings, in which at least 28 people were killed, according to the latest data.
"I think we are much closer to a solution than people realize. President Putin wants the war to end - I say that very categorically," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
According to him, the Ukrainian president also wants the conflict to end.
"President Zelensky also wants it to end. We will go to the NATO summit and we will talk about it. I think we will be able to end the war. This is a terrible situation," the American president said.
Trump is expected to talk to Zelensky on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. According to a US official, the goal of the meeting is to make a new attempt to reach a peaceful solution, after which Trump will probably talk again with Vladimir Putin.
The American president described his last phone call with the Russian head of state, held on July 4, as "good". According to the Kremlin, the conversation lasted 85 minutes, and Trump offered assistance in finding a path to peace.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow does not see a change in Washington's position on the conflict.
"President Trump has a consistent position. All allegations that he is changing his views like a weather vane are not true," Peskov said. He added that Putin and Trump have agreed to continue their contacts in the near future.
In an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also described his last conversation with Trump as "very good". According to him, the American leader said that Ukraine "is doing very well" with long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, which Kiev says have led to a fuel shortage in Russia.
Zelensky expressed the opinion that Trump now views the war differently.
"President Trump wants to be where he is successful," Zelensky said, linking this to both the US president's personal style and the upcoming US midterm elections and his desire to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough.
Trump's statements come against the backdrop of ongoing fighting and after his repeated previous assurances that he could end the war. However, no lasting agreement has been reached between Moscow and Kiev, and the positions of the two sides remain widely divergent on key issues.