ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that prospects for peace between Ukraine and Russia will become clear "within two weeks."
Speaking on The Todd Starnes Show, a conservative talk radio program, Trump was asked about achieving peace in the region.
"Well, I will let you know about, I would say within two weeks, we are going to know one way or the other," Trump responded. "After that, we’ll have to maybe take a different tact, but we will see. But we will know pretty soon."
Diplomatic efforts underway
Trump's timeline follows intensive diplomatic activity, including his recent Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and subsequent White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside European leaders.
He has announced plans for a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, followed by trilateral talks involving himself to resolve the conflict. Trump previously urged Zelenskyy to show "flexibility" in negotiations while ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.
European nations have indicated willingness to provide security guarantees through ground deployments, with the US potentially offering air support capabilities as part of any peace framework.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Wednesday that there should no NATO troops as peacekeepers, and Moscow won't accept such a security guarantee.