U.S. President Donald Trump stated in an interview with the YouTube channel 60 Minutes that a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine could be reached in the near future. According to him, the main obstacle to peace is the 'hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin,' adding that under his presidency, the conflict 'would never have started.' This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the transcript of the conversation.
'We are very close to a deal'
The 60 Minutes journalist reminded Trump that upon coming to power he had promised to achieve peace in Ukraine, yet the war continues, and asked what the main obstacle was. 'The hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin... If I were president, this war would never have started. No chance. But it did, so I inherited this war. I believe we are very close to making a deal,' the American leader replied. When asked whom he trusts more—Zelenskyy or Putin—Trump chose not to answer, limiting himself to saying that he has 'good relations' with both leaders and that a meeting would take place between them. Judging by the context, this referred to negotiations scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi.
Hint at Border Changes
Returning to the topic of a peaceful settlement, Trump reaffirmed that a deal will be reached 'very soon.' When the host asked if he expects everything to end with the preservation of a free and independent Ukraine, the U.S. president answered: 'I think we’ll have a deal, and I think it’ll happen. Ultimately, Ukraine will have somewhat different contours. Look, this war should never have happened in the first place. If I were president, it never would have started.' Thus, the head of the White House effectively hinted at a possible change in Ukraine's territorial contours as part of the final agreement.
Defense, Sanctions, and Criticism of Predecessor
Responding to accusations that Russia is the main obstacle to peace, Trump took a hardline stance: 'Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have... Look at what I did to them in trade, what sanctions I imposed, and everything else.' He emphasized that he did not lift sanctions on diesel fuel, but merely allowed Russia to supply oil and diesel 'to the whole world, which the world needed.' According to him, unlike the Obama administration, which, as he put it, 'gave them bedsheets,' he provided Ukraine with anti-tank weapons and 'thousands of units of such weapons.' At the same time, Trump pointed out that the U.S. is now selling weapons to Europe at full price and getting paid for it, and criticized Biden's decision to allocate 350 billion dollars to Ukraine, calling it 'incredibly stupid.'
Starlink Incident
A separate topic of the interview was the incident involving the speed restriction of Starlink and Starshield satellite systems for Ukraine. When asked who exactly controls this system in the combat zone—he or Elon Musk—Trump replied that he 'knows nothing about it' and that it 'certainly wasn't him and unlikely to be Musk.' 'It hasn't been proven that the speed was actually lowered. There is a lot of lying in this war. But I know one thing: when I heard about it, the speed was increased again,' the U.S. president summarized.
