US President Donald Trump has expressed doubt about the possibility of direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin because of their deep personal hostility.

Source: Trump speaking to journalists before boarding the presidential aircraft Air Force One

Details: Trump once again boasted that he had managed to stop seven wars, but also admitted that ending Russia's war against Ukraine has turned out to be much more difficult than he expected.

"I thought this was going to be an easy one for me, but this has turned out to be a tough," he said.

He described the deep personal animosity between the two leaders as the key obstacle to peace.

"The hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin is unfathomable," Trump said.

This assessment led him to question the effectiveness of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Asked whether he believed such negotiations were possible, Trump replied: "I don't know. I think I'm going to have to do all the talking."

When asked when such a conversation could take place, the US president gave a vague answer, saying it might happen "relatively soon".

Pressed further on whether the next step could be a trilateral summit, Trump said the format does not matter.

"There'll be talks, whether you call it a summit or just a get-together, it doesn't matter, but I'll probably have to get [involved]. They hate each other so much they almost can't talk. They're incapable of talking to each other," he concluded.

Background:

• On 4 September, Trump announced his intention to speak with Putin in the near future.
• On 12 September, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov "acknowledged" a pause in talks between Ukraine and Russia. He said that "one cannot wear rose-tinted glasses and expect lightning-fast results from talks on Ukraine."

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