Putin says needs to build 'trust' with US to resolve Ukraine conflict

Jordan Times

19-02-2025

A Ukrainian soldier of an artillery unit fires towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut on November 8, 2022, amid the Russian military operations in Ukraine (AFP photo)
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that his country needed to build trust with the United States in order to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
"It is impossible to solve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States," Putin said in a televised meeting with journalists in Saint Petersburg.
Putin said that a brigade of Russian troops had crossed into Ukrainian territory overnight, suggesting a ground attack on Ukraine's Sumy region for the first time since Russia retreated from there in 2022.
"I was told an hour ago that at night fighters of the 810th brigade crossed the border of the Russian Federation and Ukraine and entered the territory of the enemy," Putin said in televised remarks, referring to a brigade state media reported was deployed to Russia's Kursk region near the border with Ukraine's Sumy region.
President Donald Trump sniped at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday and effectively blamed him for Moscow's invasion -- even as he said he was more confident of a deal to end the war after US-Russia talks.
Trump increased pressure on Zelensky to hold elections -- echoing one of Moscow's key demands -- and chided the Ukrainian for complaining about being frozen out of talks in Saudi Arabia.
The US president also suggested that he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month as Washington overhauls its stance towards Russia in a shift that has alarmed European leaders.
"I'm very disappointed, I hear that they're upset about not having a seat," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when asked about the Ukrainian reaction.
"Today I heard, 'oh, well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years... You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he said.
Zelensky had earlier Tuesday criticised the US-Russia talks for excluding Kyiv, saying efforts to end the war must be "fair" and involve European countries, while postponing his own trip to Saudi Arabia.
The Ukrainian leader's comments appeared to incense Trump, who proceeded to launch a series of attacks on Zelensky, who has led Kyiv's fight against Russia's February 2022 invasion.
Asked whether the United States would support demands that Russia wanted to force Zelensky to hold new elections as part of any deal, Trump began by criticising what he said were the Ukrainian's approval ratings.
"They want a seat at the table, but you could say... wouldn't the people of Ukraine have a say? It's been a long time since we've had an election," said Trump.
"That's not a Russian thing, that's something coming from me, from other countries."
Zelensky was elected in 2019 for a five-year term, but has remained in office as Ukraine is still under martial law.