Washington (dpa-Afx)-After the cryptic ultimatum of his Foreign Minister Marco Rubio to end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump also remains vague. He wanted to see an agreement “very soon”, Trump said in the White House when asked. However, he did not specify how many days are mean. “Not a certain number of days – but quickly,” said the Republican.
At the same time, Trump made it clear that, if there is a lack of willingness to compromise on both sides, he was not interested in continuing the US mediation efforts. “If one of the two parties makes it very difficult for some reason, we will simply say: you are stupid. You are fools, you are terrible people, and we will just leave it,” he said. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
When asked whether he would end the support for Ukraine, Trump said a clear answer. He continues to believe in a negotiating solution. He is concerned that the war ended, he emphasized. From both sides – Russia and Ukraine – he expects “enthusiasm” for the talks. Trump rejected the assessment that Russia may play with him a double game: “Nobody guides me around the nose.”
Foreign Minister Rubio had previously increased the pressure on the negotiators with a cryptic threat. If there are no progress in the coming days, the United States could hire its mediation efforts, he said. A quick peace solution must be within reach – otherwise there are other options on the table./Gei/dp/he