President Trump seemingly set a firm deadline for Vladimir Putin to cease the war in Ukraine, even as the Kremlin announced Thursday that the Russian leader has no intentions of meeting with the U.S. President.
“We’re going to see if he’s stringing us along or not. If he is, we’ll respond a bit differently, but it will take about a week and a half to two weeks,” Trump mentioned to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Asked whether Putin wanted to end the war, Trump said, “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks.”
Trump – who previously accused the Russian president of “playing with fire” by not participating in cease-fire discussions – further expressed being “very disappointed” with Moscow’s recent missile and drone attacks.
âWhen I see rockets being shot into cities, thatâs no good. We arenât going to allow it,â he said.
Still, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Putin has no plans to speak to Trump — as his forces continued to make gains on the battlefield.
It comes as Russia’s defense ministry said its forces had captured three more villages in eastern Ukraine on Thursday.
