President Donald Trump said he is sticking to his own timeline when it comes to hashing out a peace deal to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump’s remarks coincide with a Thursday visit from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House, and following Wednesday comments saying there was a high likelihood that a peace agreement would emerge within the next several days.
‘I have my own deadline,’ Trump told reporters Thursday. ‘And we wanted to be fast. And the Prime Minister’s helping us.’
‘He wants it to be fast, too,’ he said. ‘And I think everybody in this, at this time in NATO, they want to see this thing happen.’
‘I think it has a very good chance of getting done,’ Trump said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital requesting details on Trump’s self-imposed deadline.
Following criticism of both Russia and Ukraine in recent days, Trump said his only priority is to save lives by securing a peace deal.
‘I have no allegiance to anybody,’ Trump told reporters Thursday. ‘I have allegiance to saving lives.’
Trump voiced his displeasure with Russia for continuing Thursday strikes on Kyiv, which killed at least 10 and injured at least 90, including children, according to Ukraine.
‘I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,’ Trump said in a social media post Thursday. ‘Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!’
Additionally, Trump signaled at the Oval Office that he would consider additional sanctions on Russia if Moscow continues to launch strikes against Ukraine.
‘I’d rather answer that question in a week. I want to see if we can have a deal. No reason to answer it now, but I won’t be happy. Let me put it that way. Things, things will happen.’
Despite these attacks from Russia, Trump also told reporters that ‘we are thinking very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table.’
Even so, Trump said in a Wednesday post on Truth Social that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s opposition to certain concessions related to territorial control of Crimea would only stall peace negotiations.
Vice President JD Vance disclosed Wednesday that a proposal is on the table — but if neither party agrees, the U.S. will disengage from advancing the peace talks. Vance said the deal would require both Russia and Ukraine to give up some of their territory, but that the lines would remain ‘close to where they are today.’
‘We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process,’ Vance told reporters Wednesday. ‘We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work.’
The Trump administration has recently signaled that a deal may be on the horizon, and Trump expressed optimism Sunday that Ukraine and Russia could nail down an agreement that would pave the way for them to start conducting ‘big business’ with the U.S.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump has promised since the campaign trail that he would move to end the conflict between the two countries.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
