President Donald Trump stated that “Our delegation is going to Russia; the ceasefire depends on Russia. Hopefully, we can achieve a ceasefire. We have received positive messages about the ceasefire.”

President Trump welcomed Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the White House. Assessing the Russia-Ukraine agenda with the press, Trump emphasized the successful talks held in Jeddah yesterday between the US and Ukrainian delegations, reaching an agreement on a 30-day temporary ceasefire for Ukraine. Trump stated, “We achieved a great success yesterday. If it comes into effect, we will establish a full ceasefire. Now, this issue is in Russia’s hands.” Trump noted that some American officials are travelling to Moscow for discussions and expressed hope for a ceasefire upon their return. He said, “We have good relations with both sides. Hopefully, we can return with a ceasefire from Russia. If we succeed, I believe we will have opened up 80% of the way to stopping this dreadful war.”

Responding to a question about how he would pressure Moscow to accept the ceasefire agreement, Trump expressed his desire that such pressure would not be necessary. He stated, “Hopefully, it will not be needed. Yes, you can do unpleasant things financially. I can do something financially. This would be very bad for Russia. I do not want to do this because I want peace.”

Yesterday, President Trump mentioned about the latest talks between the US and Ukraine, saying, “Ukraine accepted this agreement, and I hope Russia accepts it too. We will meet with them today and tomorrow, and hopefully, we can reach an agreement. So, a complete ceasefire is at stake here. Ukraine accepted it, and I hope Russia accepts it too.” Trump gave a positive response when asked about whether Ukrainian President Zelenskiy would be invited back to the White House, saying, “Absolutely.” Trump also indicated that he would discuss the ceasefire with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, saying, “It takes two to tango.”

Furthermore, Trump reiterated claims that the European Union had been treating the United States “badly” for many years. He stated that the “unfair trade treatment” from the EU towards the US would end during his presidency, adding that they would apply the same customs tariffs to the EU as the EU applied to them. Trump argued that the EU was established to benefit from the US, alleging that European countries had been unfair to the US on customs duties. Responding to a question about Gaza, Trump said, “We want to strengthen peace. This is our fundamental principle. We really need the release of hostages. All of them. Then, we need a ceasefire, we need to reinforce this. We need an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.” When asked about discussing President Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza, he responded by saying, “No one is deporting Palestinians.”