U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration’s efforts to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal were “hopefully underway” and that he hoped to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.

“I really hope to be able to meet with President Putin soon to end this war, not from an economic perspective or anything,” Trump said in a highly anticipated video address from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. . ” Otherwise, from the perspective of millions of lives being wasted. “

december, trump Putin said Expressed interest in meeting him.

Trump also said Thursday, without providing details, “We want to ensure that efforts to reach a peaceful resolution between Russia and Ukraine are underway. It’s very important that we get that done.”

At the same time he Believes high oil prices are the cause of warand called on the producer countries organization OPEC to lower prices.

Trump earlier this week threatened to impose “high levels” of sanctions and tariffs on Russia if it did not “make a deal” to end its war in Ukraine.

Earlier on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised his approach in an interview with the World Economic Forum. Rutte told CNBC he was “very happy” about Trump’s sanctions threat. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schof also echoed the president’s comments, telling CNBC that such sanctions would “put huge pressure on Russia to take action.”

Speaking in Davos on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky struck a more skeptical tone, questioning whether Trump would “even pay attention to Europe” during his presidency. Attend a promotional event in Kyiv a set of peace proposals As the war approaches its third anniversary, Zelensky also suggested that Trump could ignore Europe and work with Russia and China to broker peace talks in Ukraine.

Washington has imposed sanctions on Russia, targeting areas including shipping and energytogether with an individual believed to be sustaining the war effort. To date, the United States has also provided maximum financial aid Provide any country to Ukraine, including billions of dollars in military aid.

U.S. funding for Kyiv has become increasingly politically contentious, with former U.S. President Joe Biden struggling to pass a foreign aid bill in April 2024 that included $60 billion in support for Ukraine. Trump’s re-election in November has raised questions about the future of the war, including whether to support Ukraine. Europe will increase its contribution to Ukraine.

NATO leader Rutte told CNBC that Europe must also “strengthen” its own sanctions to “contain the Russian economy.”