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U.S. President Donald Trump has declined to comment on whether he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned that Russia would face “devastating” consequences if it does not agree to a ceasefire.
He said this at a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the White House on Wednesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“I won’t comment on that,” Trump said when asked if he plans to speak with Putin in the near future.
He said there was a “great success” on Tuesday, March 12, referring to a meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia. He noted that Ukraine had agreed to a full ceasefire, leaving the next move up to Russia. Trump also mentioned upcoming negotiations between U.S. representatives and Russian officials on the issue.
“We’ve had a good relationship with both parties actually, and we’ll see,” Trump said.
He expressed hope that Russia would also accept the ceasefire proposal.
“Hopefully, we can get a ceasefire from Russia, and if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished,” Trump said.
However, Trump said that if Russia does not agree to the ceasefire proposal and chooses to continue the war, it will face “devastating” consequences, hinting at economic sanctions.
“There are things you can do that would not be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially,” he said.
Trump stressed that such things would be “very bad for Russia,” but added that he did not want to do that because “I want to see peace.”
Trump stated earlier on Wednesday that U.S. officials were on their way to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.
Read also: Rubio hopes ceasefire in Ukraine could happen in ‘days’
