Trump imposed conditions on meeting Putin

Washington (dpa) — U.S. President Donald Trmp has reiterated that he will only meet Russian President Vladimir Putin if he knows there is a Ukraine deal.

Asked what Russia will have to do for him to reschedule his planned meeting with Putin, Trump told journalists on Air Force One on Saturday: “I am going to have to know that we’re going to make a deal. I’m not going to be wasting my time.”

A few days ago, Trump canceled a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest that had previously been promised in the near future — and postponed it indefinitely.

His administration also imposed new sanctions against Russia for the first time in Trump’s second term. As justification, it explicitly referred to Putin’s unwillingness to end the war of aggression against Ukraine.

Trump also again said reiterated that he was disappointed and had believed in peace in the region at a much earlier stage than in the Middle East.