Trump: Efforts for Peace in Ukraine are 'Rapidly' Advancing

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, said on Thursday, March 9, at a joint press conference with Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, at the White House that the next step regarding the war in Ukraine is to move towards a ceasefire. Trump stated that efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine are 'rapidly' advancing and reiterated that if he were President of the United States, the war in Ukraine would never have happened and over a million people would not have died. He further added that the war in Ukraine highlights the importance and necessity of increasing the contributions of other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in funding this Western defense alliance. Trump also mentioned that his agreement with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, who is set to arrive in Washington on Friday, will make the United States a partner with Ukraine in developing its mineral resources and will lead to the reimbursement of costs incurred by American taxpayers for the war in Ukraine. In another part of his remarks at this joint press conference, he defended his tariff policy towards other countries, stating that this policy has created balance between the United States and them. Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, also referred to Donald Trump as a 'very good friend' of Britain in the White House. He stated that Europe is increasingly helping Ukraine and that Britain has dedicated its largest expenditure in recent decades to military issues. Just hours before this joint press conference, the President of the United States had told reporters that Volodymyr Zelensky would arrive in Washington on Friday morning. According to him, a peace agreement must be reached before establishing a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. The President of the United States added that he has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. According to Trump, Russia has performed 'very well' and significant progress has been made towards achieving peace. Donald Trump stated that he does not believe that if peace is achieved, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, will invade Ukraine again and that Putin will keep his promises. The President of the United States said he trusts Putin but must verify him. Regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO, he said this will not happen. However, he added that he will certainly try to restore as much of Ukraine's territory as possible back to the sovereignty of that country. Starmer emphasized the 'commonalities' between Britain and the United States upon his arrival in Washington and briefly stated, 'We want a new cooperation because our history shows that when we work together, great things happen.' Furthermore, to please Trump, Britain and the United States announced on Tuesday an unexpected increase in Britain's defense budget to 2.5 percent of the country's GDP by 2027 and then to 2.6 percent the following year. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom also told reporters on Tuesday that the increase in defense spending has been 'in the works for three years' and was shaped after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He acknowledged that the decision to increase defense spending was accelerated due to Trump's actions to negotiate with Moscow without the participation of Ukraine or Europeans and also due to the reduction of U.S. support for European security.