He discussed the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent phone call “and hopefully we could work together and get that stopped,” Trump said. The Chinese readout from that discussion stated the two “exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis,” without providing any further detail.
Asked if the war can be ended within the next year, Trump replied: “You’re going to have to ask Russia, Ukraine is ready to make a deal.”
Trump’s decision to focus attention on Putin, rather than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is likely to raise anxiety within the Kremlin about its ability to influence the new US administration to secure a favorable outcome to the war. The attempt to join forces with China will also spark unease because Putin has relied heavily on a strategic partnership with Xi to dilute the impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy.
Zelenskiy made similar comments on China’s potential role in achieving peace, in his interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday. Xi “can push Putin for peace,” Zelenskiy said. “President Trump is the strongest — and Xi Jinping. I think there’s no other ally who can really do it.”Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said her nation was “happy to see all parties play a constructive role and build conditions for deescalation and political settlement of the crisis.”“China will continue to promote peace talks and maintain communication with other parties,” Mao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Hours before Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Putin had complimented the US leader and said Russia was open to “mutually respectful” talks with him about the war.
Since then, Trump has taken to social media to urge Putin to “make a deal” or face further sanctions on Russia, and suggested the US may team up with Russia’s closest partner to push for a settlement to the war.
Xi and Putin held a call a day after Trump’s inauguration where they talked up the China-Russia relationship. Russian media reported that the Chinese leader briefed Moscow on his call with Trump, and that both China and Russia were open to dialogue with the US president on Ukraine “if appropriate signals come from Washington.”
The two leaders declared a “no-limits friendship” just weeks before Putin launched his 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Though Beijing has stepped up efforts to position itself as a peacemaker that could help end the conflict, a peace plan it put forward in 2023 faced criticism by those who saw it as favoring Moscow.
