President Donald Trump blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine continuing for nearly three years.
During a Thursday Q&A following his video speech to attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump was asked if a peace agreement will exist between Russia and Ukraine when he attends next year's conference.
"Well, you're gonna have to ask Russia," Trump said. "Ukraine is ready to make a deal."
Trump said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries shares responsibility for the war because it has kept oil prices too high.
"If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately," said Trump, alluding to Russia earning much revenue from its energy sales.
Feb. 24 will mark three years since Russia invaded Ukraine.
"I knew that it [Ukraine] was the apple of President Putin's eye, but I also knew that there was no way he was going in ... and he wasn't going to go in," Trump told the WEF crowd. "And then when I was out [of office] bad things happened, bad things were said, a lot of stupidity all around and you end up with what you have.
"Now you have all of these bombed-out cities – they look like demolition sites with many people killed. I think the thing that you'll see about Ukraine is far more people died than is being reported."
In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "told me he wants to make a deal." Trump added, "I don't know if Putin does. … He might not. I think he should make a deal. I think he's destroying Russia by not making a deal," Politico reported.
During his WEF speech on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said European countries will need to step up and join peacekeeping efforts in his country.
"Most of the world's now thinking — so, what's going happen to their relationship with America? What will happen to alliances? To support? To trade? How does President Trump plan to end wars?" Zelenskyy said.
"But no one is asking these kinds of questions about Europe. And we need to be honest about that."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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