Trump says peace deal in Ukraine to happen 'fairly soon' or not at all

US President Donald Trump says talks to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine are “very well advanced” and warned that that there is only a narrow window to broker a deal between Moscow and Kyiv and bring the fighting to a close.

He made the remarks on Thursday as he hosted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House, who visited Washington to urge Trump to continue supporting Ukraine, as tensions soared after Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy traded blows last week.

The 47th US president also expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t push to resume the war if a truce can’t be reached. “I think he’ll keep his word,” said Trump on Putin.

“I’ve known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax together,” added Trump referring to the FBI and Justice Department special counsel investigation that examined whether his 2016 presidential campaign illegally coordinated with the Kremlin to sway the outcome of the election.

Starmer’s trip comes just a few days after French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Washington to meet Trump and discuss the war in Ukraine. It also reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Trump’s over-eagerness to broker a peace deal in Ukraine signals a willingness to concede too much to Putin.

“To begin the process of ending this spiral of death, I had historic back to back calls with President Putin,” said Trump in a joint press conference with Starmer following their meeting.

Trump also noted that his team have been in contact with Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on several occasions. “We’re working very hard to get that war brought to an end,” said Trump.

"I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and I think it’s