Trump blames personal hatred between leaders for prolonging Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump has suggested that deep-seated personal animosity between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine is a major obstacle to ending the ongoing war.

Speaking during a bilateral lunch with the Prime Minister of Australia, Trump, who claims to have helped settle multiple wars in recent months, said the Russia-Ukraine war remains unresolved due to the mutual hatred between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Caliber.Az reports.

“I've settled eight wars in eight months. That's not bad. I have one more to go, it's Russia/Ukraine. I think we will get there but it's turned out to be nasty because you have two leaders that truly hate each other and you can't have it all, right? They hate each other beyond all else and it makes it a little difficult,” Trump said.

A reminder that earlier, when asked why he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is avoiding direct talks with him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded, “It's no secret. As Trump said, Putin hates me.”

When asked if he also hated Putin, Zelensky replied, “Putin wants to kill all his people, so it's understandable that he would have a similar feeling towards Putin. It's not about feelings... they attacked us – and we have enemies... of course, we hate the enemy,” he continued.

By Sabina Mammadli