This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump is thrashing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for "supposedly" saying a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia "is still very, very far away."
"I wanna see it end fast. I don't want to see this go on for years and years," Trump said at a White House news conference Monday.
"Now, President Zelensky supposedly made a statement today in AP – I'm not a big fan of AP, so maybe it was an incorrect statement – but he thinks the war's gonna go on for a long time. And he better not be right about that. That's all I'm saying."
Earlier in the day on Truth Social, Trump said of Zelensky's purported remark:
"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer! It is what I was saying, this guy doesn't want there to be Peace as long as he has America's backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?"
During the news conference Monday afternoon, Trump stressed his desire for a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has been flaring for three years.
"I want all those young people to stop being killed," Trump said. "We're talking about thousands of young people a week."
"It's a very, very sad thing that's happening over there. We want to get it finished. We want to stop the death."
Trump indicated he's trying to get deals with everyone involved.
"It takes two to tango, and you're gonna have to make a deal with Russia, and you're gonna have to make a deal Ukraine," he explained. "And you're gonna have to have the consent from the European Union. Everybody has to get in a room, so to speak, and make a deal."
"If somebody doesn't want to make a deal, I don't think that person will be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long," he added.
Trump also recounted the track record of previous U.S. presidents and their handling of recent Russian aggression.
"Under President Bush, they got Georgia. Russia got Georgia," he said. "Under President Obama, they got a nice big submarine base. Crimea."
"Under President Trump, they got nothing. And under President Biden, they tried to get the whole thing."
