Trump says solving Ukraine crisis his 'top priority'

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said solving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority once he assumes office next month, describing the Middle East as a “less difficult situation.”

“I think we have to solve the Ukraine problem with Russia,” the U.S. president-elect told French magazine Paris Match in an interview recorded on Dec 7 and released on Dec 11.

“Both those countries are losing numbers that nobody can believe. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are being killed,” Trump said, replying to a question about his top priority on the international stage.

“And the Middle East is of course a big priority. But I think that the Middle East is a less difficult situation than Ukraine with Russia,” Trump said.

“But those are the two situations that we have to solve and we have to solve them quickly. A lot of people are dying.”

Trump flew to Paris for the Dec 7 reopening of Notre Dame cathedral following a devastating fire in 2019. He met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to France, his first international trip since his re-election.

“We had a good meeting with President Zelensky,” Trump said.

On Dec 10, Mr Zelensky said he was grateful for Trump’s “strong resolve” to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump once boasted he could end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours.

On Dec 8, he wrote on his Truth Social platform that “there should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.”

He also reiterated his call for Washington not to intervene in Syria where longtime president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive at the weekend.

“Syria will have to take care of itself,” Trump said in the interview. “We are not involved in Syria.” AFP