Trump says Putin meeting being set up to end Ukraine war

President-elect Donald Trump said he is planning a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he wants to end the "bloody mess" of the Ukraine war.

President-elect Donald Trump said late Thursday that a meeting is being arranged with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a summit that would be eyed anxiously by Ukraine and its other Western allies.

“President Putin wants to meet” and “we are setting it up,” Trump told a news briefing at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. “We have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”

Trump has previously suggested he would seek to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, now approaching the three-year mark, within 24 hours of assuming office.

Russia says it is open to to dialogue and diplomacy — although critics say that in reality its proposals amount to little more than a Ukrainian surrender. 

“President Putin has repeatedly stated his openness to contacts with international leaders, including the U.S. president, including with Donald Trump,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.  “No conditions are required for this, what is required is a mutual desire and political will to conduct a dialogue.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/trump-putin-meeting-works-end-ukraine-war-russia-rcna187103

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