Trump hung up on 'unsurprising fact' complicating Ukraine-Russia negotiations: report
President Donald Trump has been venting to advisers that resolving the Ukraine-Russia war has been more difficult than he expected, after passing 93 days past his own deadline for ending the conflict on his first day in office.
The president's agitation boiled over Thursday after Russia launched its deadliest attack on Kyiv since last summer, killing at least 12 people, and he's been telling aides he wants a deal in place by his 100th day in office comes next week, reported CNN.
"Behind the scenes, he frequently brings up how much Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hate one another, one of the sources said – an unsurprising fact, but one the president argues further complicates negotiations," the network reported.
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Trump offered a rare flash of anger Thursday toward Putin in a 30-word social media post, saying "Vladimir stop," but he directed much lengthier, 259-word attack against Zelensky a day before.
"We are quickly approaching that 100th day of president Donald Trump's second term," said CNN's Alayna Treene, "and that's really the deadline that he's told his team that he wants a deal between Russia and Ukraine to be struck by, and as we move closer, it's clear that that is still far from being completed, and what we're learning is that he is increasingly growing frustrated with the pace of these negotiations and also privately telling advisers essentially that this is more difficult than he had initially anticipated."
Trump has been frustrated by what he sees as personal antipathy between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, although she said that should not necessarily be surprising.
"We kind of saw some of this frustration and agitation kind of boil over yesterday, particularly after we saw Russia launch its deadliest attack on Kyiv since last summer," Treene said. "The president said that essentially that was getting in the way of what he believes is him closing in on a potential deal between these two countries, and we kind of heard him for the first time, really show that exasperation with Russia publicly. However, he still argued that Russia would be giving up a lot if they were to come to the table and sign this potential deal. listen to how he put it in the Oval Office."
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