‘Not wasting my time unless…’: Trump makes BIG announcement on Russia-Ukraine war, says Putin praised him for…

Russia-Ukraine war: US President Doland Trump on Sunday said he wasn’t keen on “wasting my time” in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin unless he knows that a deal can be reached with Moscow to end the Russian-Ukraine war.

What Trump said about meeting Putin?

Talking to media persons aboard Air Force One, Trump said Putin praised him for his efforts in brokering peace in various conflicts, including in Azerbaijan and Armenia, but admitted that the Russia-Ukraine war is the most challenging thing for him to resolve.

Asked about the possibility of another meeting with Vladimir Putin after plans for an earlier summit were suspended indefinitely, Doland Trump said he had a “great relationship” with the Russian leader, but working with him to solve the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been “very disappointing”.

“I’m going to have to know that we’re going to have a deal (with Putin). I’m not going to be wasting my time. I’ve always had a very great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing. I thought this would have gotten done before peace in the Middle East. We have Azerbaijan, Armenia – that was very tough. In fact, Putin told me on the phone he said, ‘Boy, that was amazing’ because everybody tried to get that done and they couldn’t,” the US president said.

Trump reiterates India(BHARAT)-Pakistan ceasefire claim

Meanwhile, Trump reiterated his claim of brokering the India(BHARAT)-Pakistan ceasefire in May, saying that he “got it done”.

“I got it done (ceasefire). There are others. If you look at India(BHARAT) and Pakistan. I could say almost any one of the deals that I’ve already done I thought would have been more difficult than Russia and Ukraine, but it didn’t work out that way,”

During the press gaggle, the Trump expressed confidence in achieving lasting peace in the Middle East, while warning Hamas of serious consequences if the ceasefire agreement with Israel is violated.

“I think it (ceasefire) will hold. Well, if it doesn’t hold, it’s Hamas. Hamas will not be hard to deal with very quickly. I hope it holds for Hamas too because they gave us their world on something, so I think it’s going to hold, and if it doesn’t, then they’ll have a very big problem,” he said.

Why Trump is attending ASEAN summit?

The US president is travelling to Malaysia to attend the upcoming ASEAN summit. On his way, Trump halted at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, where he welcomed Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani aboard the plane.

Trump is on a three-nation tour, during which, after Malaysia, he is set to visit Japan and South Korea. While in Kuala Lumpur for the summit, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks to prevent an escalation of their trade war. The US president, through engagement with Asian leaders,  aims to negotiate favourable trade agreements, reduce tariffs, and boost US exports, with his return to Asia potentially redefining regional trade and diplomacy.

The threatened tariffs and other trade curbs would take effect on November 1 in retaliation for China’s expanded export controls on rare-earth magnets and minerals. Recent actions include an expanded US export blacklist covering thousands more Chinese firms.

(With inputs from agencies)