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U.S. officials were in Moscow for talks, and the Russian leader said he was open to a cease-fire, but President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine expressed skepticism.
President Trump said Thursday he saw “good signals” toward finalizing a 30-day cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, as U.S. officials visiting Moscow were expected to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
The remarks, delivered in the Oval Office while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, came as Mr. Putin made clear he was in no hurry for a cease-fire, laying out numerous conditions before he could agree to a truce.
“It doesn’t mean anything until we hear what the final outcome is, but they have very serious discussions going on right now with President Putin and others, and hopefully they all want to end this nightmare,” Mr. Trump said of the meetings his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was having in Russia. “It’s a nightmare. It’s a horrible thing.”
Mr. Trump said he hoped to speak to Mr. Putin soon. He also said the U.S. had discussed with Ukraine possible concessions as part of a peace agreement.
“We’ve been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost, and all of the other elements of a final agreement,” Mr. Trump said.
He added: “A lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine struck a pessimistic tone in his evening address to Ukrainians on Thursday. Mr. Putin’s response to the cease-fire proposal, he said, was “very predictable.” Mr. Putin, he said, set so many preconditions “that nothing will work out at all, or that it will not work out for as long as possible.”
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