Trump Flip-Flops on Putin’s Intentions for Peace in Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday once again claimed that Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants peace in Ukraine, just days after suggesting the opposite.

In an interview with ABC News correspondent Terry Moran, Trump was asked about a recent post on Truth Social in which he cast doubt on the Kremlin leader’s intentions about ending the war.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns,” Trump wrote following a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

Trump echoed that same skepticism in the NBC News interview, telling Moran: “[Putin] could be tapping me along a little bit.”

However, when Moran followed up more directly, asking whether Putin wants to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine, Trump appeared to reverse course.

“I think he does, yes,” the U.S. president said. “I think… his dream was to take over the whole country. I think because of me, he’s not gonna do that.”

Trump had previously vowed to end the Ukraine war “within 24 hours” of taking office, but his peace push has so far produced few results.

Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Washington could drop its mediation efforts unless both Russia and Ukraine offer “concrete proposals.”

Putin has proposed a 72-hour ceasefire next week to coincide with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, a plan Kyiv has dismissed as a symbolic gesture aimed at buying time on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Russia has rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States and supported by Ukraine.

AFP contributed reporting.

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