You have no thought how much force we put on Russia, or Russia would not talk," said president Donald Trump on Thursday. During his gathering with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoer, he stated that Russia had proposed a "big concession".
"We're under quite a few pressure. You have no thought the force I put on Russia... Otherwise Russia would not be talking to us now, and the Prime Minister understands it better than anyone else" - Trump said, pointing to the Norwegian Prime Minister during their gathering at the Oval Office. However, the president of the United States did not want to answer the question whether he intended to impose additional sanctions on Russia if she shortly disagreed to end the war, though he said he would "not be pleased" and "things will begin to happen."
When asked what concessions Russia had made, Trump replied that they were the stopping of the invasion and giving up "the full country."
"It's a large concession," he commented. He reiterated that he was not satisfied that Russia had made a massive bombing of Kiev during the negotiations. Despite this, he denied that Russia would be an obstacle to peace and expressed optimism about the chances of reaching an agreement rapidly and ending fights.
"I think they both want peace now. They are ready to do something," he said.
Trump refused to answer the question whether he intended to proceed military and intelligence support for Ukraine. He said to ask him about it in 2 weeks, expressing his hope that a peace agreement could be reached earlier and "he would not gotta answer that question."
The president of the United States did not straight answer whether he would recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea, saying only that Crimea was seized under president Barack Obama.
"We will do our best with Ukraine. But erstwhile you talk about Crimea, which was handed over for president Barack Hussein Obama... There was no shooting, there was no fighting, there was nothing. They just handed it over. Now they say, well, can you get it back? I think it will be a very hard thing to do" - said Trump. He besides repeatedly emphasized that "this is not his war" and he does not take sides.
Stoere praised Trump's peaceful initiative, stated that he had had a good discussion with him and stressed that Europeans and Americans must work together due to the fact that the war is "bad for Europe and bad for the world."
"Ukraine is under attack. They're defending themselves. People are losing their lives and we are profoundly convinced that a ceasefire is necessary. The initiative taken by the US any time ago must be respected, and then we should decision on to something that both sides can agree to" - he said.
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
