US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters at The Hague on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday (June 25) said Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking for a way to exit the war in Ukraine, calling it a “mess” for the Kremlin and revealing that Putin recently reached out to him with an offer to assist on Iran.
“He’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him,” Trump said of the Russian president. “He called the other day, and he said, ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said ‘no, you can help me with Russia.’”
‘Misguided’ Putin
Trump went on to say he believes Putin has been “misguided” in his invasion of Ukraine. “I’m very surprised actually,” he said. “I thought we should have settled that easily.”
Trump has frequently claimed that he could have prevented the war — or ended it quickly — had he still been in office.
On Putin’s ambitions: “It’s possible”
Responding to a question about whether Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, Trump said: “It’s possible,” stopping short of making a firm prediction.
He used the moment to emphasise what he called his administration’s success in de-escalating other global tensions, including “taking care of” a recent flare-up between India and Pakistan.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates