President Donald Trump says he is close to reaching a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine that will involve “swapping of territories.”
“I think we’re getting very close,” Trump said.
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years,” he added. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
The president made the announcement as his self-imposed deadline for Russia to make a deal or face sanctions hit Friday.
Trump answered questions about the war in Ukraine while hosting a peace summit between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House.
He said he didn’t want to reveal further details about the deal because he didn’t want to overshadow his Friday event.
“I’ll be meeting very shortly with President Putin,” Trump said. “It would have been sooner, but I guess there’s security arrangements that, unfortunately, people have to make.”
In late July, the president moved up his deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal agreement, setting it on August 8 after previously saying Russia had 50 days to end the war, which would have fallen on September 2.
The White House said that, despite progress being made this week with talks, the deadline remained.
It comes as Trump has indicated he will sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week.
The White House had previously indicated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would have to be included in any meeting, but Trump relented on Thursday, saying it was not required.
When asked whether he would impose sanctions on Friday as promised, Trump indicated it was up to Putin.
“It’s going to be up to him,” the president said. “We’re going to see what he has to say.”
Trump acknowledged he was “very disappointed” in the situation.
On Wednesday, special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian leaders in a last-minute effort to reach an agreement. Trump described those talks with Putin as “very good.”
The Kremlin also called the Witkoff meeting “useful and constructive.”
On the campaign trail, Trump claimed he would end the war in Ukraine on day one of his second term. But despite talks, he has struggled to close a deal.
The president has expressed his frustration with Putin in comments and posts over the past few months, calling the Russian leader “absolutely crazy.”
He also admitted in a rare move last month that a lot of Putin’s talk had been “meaningless” and that Russia had been throwing a lot of “bulls**t” as it stalls on making a deal.
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