President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that his team is working to arrange meetings with him Russian President Vladimir Putin And Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“He wants to meet. We are arranging that,” he told reporters during a Mar-a-Lago press conference on Putin. “President Xi – we have had a lot of communications. We have a lot of meetings set up with a lot of people.
He added, “I prefer to wait until after the 20th,” referring to his inauguration date later this month.
Trump added, “President Putin wants to meet.” “We have to end this war.”
Then-US President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Friday, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Trump noted the “astonishing” casualty rates suffered by both Russia and Ukraine, and noted that the number of civilian casualties was likely much higher than reported.
Russia's TASS news agency reported that the Kremlin confirmed Trump's comments on Friday and said it was ready to “solve problems through dialogue.”
Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, General Keith KelloggFox News Digital said he set a goal of ending the war in Ukraine within 100 days of assuming the top job.
Kellogg described the war as a “massacre” but said he was confident that Trump could end the war “in the near term.”
The retired three-star general told Fox News' “America Reports” on Thursday that he and Trump will make sure the ceasefire agreement is “fair” and “fair,” though he did not elaborate on what that means as far as withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine's border. Internationally recognized.
Former President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower on Friday, September 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nickinson)
Trump has not detailed how he intends to end the three-year-old war, although he has indicated that he may support Putin's request to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, and told reporters on Thursday that he “understands how (Putin) feels about” Ukraine not joining NATO. Atlantic. They want NATO “on their doorstep.”
Before its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow already had four countries on its border that were members of the international security alliance, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Finland then joined NATO in 2023, applying for membership just 3 months after the February 22, 2022 invasion.
Moscow and Kiev have made clear the conditions surrounding this Ukraine's membership in NATO Non-negotiable.
Then-US President Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Trump did not clarify when he might meet with the Chinese president, and it remains unclear whether Xi has plans to meet with him in person.
Trump has reportedly invited Xi to his inauguration, though Beijing said it would instead send a high-level envoy, which is more in line with tradition.
In his last meeting with President Biden in November, Xi expressed his willingness to work with the soon-to-be former US president.
However, Trump, who once said he and Xi “love each other,” in late November He promised to hit China with 60% tariffs. Then he said this week he would consider using military action to seize the Panama Canal, which the United States returned to Panama in 1979 before ending its partnership in controlling the strategic route in 1999.
He added, “The Panama Canal is vital to our country and is run by China. We gave the Panama Canal to Panama and did not give it to China.”
The Marshall Islands freighter Cape Hellas and the Portuguese freighter MSC Elma sail on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on December 28, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Panama Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.
Trump's transition team did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about concerns about sparking a military confrontation with China in Panama.
