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U.S. President Donald Trump declined to directly accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of responsibility for launching the full-scale war against Ukraine during remarks made at a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of India.
When asked by reporters whether he believed Putin bore the greatest responsibility for the conflict, Trump avoided a direct answer.
“I don’t want to comment on that because I’m trying to get a settlement. It doesn’t make the job any easier,” he said.
Trump stressed that his priority remains ending the fighting as quickly as possible and finding a diplomatic solution acceptable to both sides.
The U.S. president also revealed that he had recently held talks with both Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. While describing the conversations as productive, he acknowledged that achieving peace has proven more difficult than he initially expected.
“I’ve ended eight wars, and honestly, I thought this one would be among the easiest. But they don’t like each other very much, and that makes everything much more complicated. Still, I had two good conversations with President Zelensky and President Putin,” Trump said.
During the G7 summit in France, Trump reportedly acknowledged that Putin is currently in a weaker position regarding the war than he was previously. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described this as a potential “window of opportunity” for diplomacy.
According to reports from the summit, Trump also indicated a willingness to increase pressure on the Kremlin while seeking broader international cooperation on security in the Strait of Hormuz and support for a new agreement with Iran.
Meanwhile, Zelensky and Merz reiterated to Trump that Ukraine remains open to negotiations, but emphasized that any peace process must be based on international law and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
