US President Donald Trump said on Monday that reaching a solution to the war that has been ongoing for more than four years in Ukraine is "closer than people think," indicating that he will discuss the Ukraine file during talks in Turkey this week on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
Trump made these remarks after speaking earlier this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump did not give a specific reason for his assertion that a solution to the conflict is near, at a time when Russia launched a missile and drone attack on Ukraine early Monday morning, killing at least 28.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he believes the US position on how to resolve the conflict remains unchanged.
But Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Financial Times that he believes Trump is viewing the conflict from a new perspective in light of recent Ukrainian successes.
In remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: "I think this (resolution of the conflict) is closer than people think. President Putin wants to end it. I tell you that for sure."
Trump mentioned that he had a "good call" with Putin over the July 4th holiday, a conversation that a Kremlin aide said lasted 85 minutes and featured an offer from Trump to help find a path to peace.
Trump added: "President Zelenskyy actually wants the matter to end now. We will go to the NATO summit, and we will talk about it, and I think we will achieve that... I think we will end it. It's a terrible situation."
From the scheduled meeting, Trump is to meet with Zelenskyy on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
A US official said the idea of the talks is to give new impetus to ending the war.
The same official said that Trump is likely to hold talks with Putin after speaking to Zelenskyy.
