US President Donald Trump claimed in the run-up to the election that he would solve the Russia-Ukraine conflict in ’24 hours’. However, after assuming the presidency, Trump’s stance consistently evolved, with the latest juncture being the US Secretary of State’s the US will ‘move on’ statement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his recent statement, said that the US is prepared to ‘move on’ since the Ukraine peace talks are stalled with no immediate breakthrough expected. Rubio suggested that the US might soon back away from negotiations altogether without more progress, which sounds contrary to the promise US President Donald Trump showed in the run-up to the polls.
Rubio’s latest statement, which implied that the US does not want to keep dragging it out as it has ‘other priorities’ to focus upon, sounds like a repudiation of the president’s old comments on Ukraine.
Let’s take a look at the evolution in Trump’s stance in solving the Ukraine crisis:
- In March 2023, Trump made a comment to Fox News, saying, “There’s a very easy negotiation to take place. But I don’t want to tell you what it is because then I can’t use that negotiation; it’ll never work.” He claimed to solve the war “in 24 hours”.
- “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” Trump said during a town hall on CNN in May 2023.
- Trump told a National Guard Conference in August 2024 that he would solve the Ukraine crisis “shortly after winning the presidency”. Trump implied he will solve the issue even without taking office.
- In December 2024, Trump said, “I’m going to try,” during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club.
- In January 2025, Trump said his new administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia, adding that he and Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict.
- In February 2025, Trump spoke to Putin for more than an hour. Later, in the same month, he posts on Truth Social that Zelenskyy is serving as a “dictator without elections”.
- February 28, 2025: Trump and Zelenskyy hold a contentious Oval Office meeting. Trump berates Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” and calls off the minerals deal.
- In March 2025, Trump said he was “being a little bit sarcastic” when he repeatedly claimed that he would have the Russia-Ukraine war solved within 24 hours.
- On March 18-19, Trump speaks to Putin and Zelenskyy separately. Putin told Trump that he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire that Trump had proposed.
- On April 14, Trump says “everybody” is to blame: Zelenskyy, Putin and Biden for the war.
- On April 18, Rubio said the US may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.
Notably, Trump has agreed with what Rubio said, asserting that a Ukraine peace deal must be done “quickly”. While he stopped short of saying he’s ready to walk away from peace negotiations, Trump said, “Marco is right.”
(With inputs from AP)
