Trump called on Putin to meet and said he hoped for Ukraine’s peace efforts.

US President Donald Trump said his administration’s efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal are “hopefully underway” and said he would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.

“I want to be able to meet with President Putin very soon to end the war, and it’s not about the economy or anything else, millions of people are dying,” Trump said in a highly anticipated speech via video link to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In December, Trump expressed interest in meeting Putin.

Without giving details, Trump said on Thursday, “Our efforts to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine are now hopefully underway. It is very important to do so.”

Meanwhile, he pointed out that the rise in oil prices was the reason for the war, and asked the producer group OPEC to reduce prices.

Trump earlier this week threatened to impose steep sanctions and tariffs if Russia “doesn’t make a deal” to end its war on Ukraine.

His approach was praised by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in an interview at the WEF earlier on Thursday. Root told CNBC that he was “very happy” with Trump’s threat of sanctions. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof similarly endorsed the president’s comments, telling CNBC that such sanctions would be “good pressure for Russia to act.”

Speaking in Davos on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky struck a more skeptical tone, questioning whether Trump would “even care about Europe” during his presidency. Attending the event to promote Kyiv A collection of peace ideas As the war nears its third year, Zelensky also suggested that Trump could side with Russia and China and ignore Europe to organize Ukraine peace talks.

Washington has imposed sanctions on several places, including Russia. Shipping and laborwith Individuals who believe that they support the war. The US has yet to offer The biggest financial support Ukraine, to any country, including billions in military aid.

US aid to Kiev has become increasingly politically contentious, with former US President Joe Biden fighting to approve Ukraine’s $60 billion foreign aid bill in April 2024. Trump’s re-election in November raised questions about the war’s future. Europe will increase its contribution to Ukraine.

NATO chief Ruth Rutt told CNBC that Europe should also “strengthen” its own sanctions to “crush Russia’s economy.”