Trump sees Russia-Ukraine peace chance, rejects Venezuela attack.
According to CNN, Trump announced Monday morning that he had spoken to the Ukrainian delegation in Miami, Florida, following talks between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, and that there was a good opportunity to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and that “we want to stop the killing of people.”
He added that he had spoken to Rubio and Witkoff. “They’re doing a good job. But Ukraine has some tough problems. I think Russia would like to see those things end.”
Explaining what he meant by tough problems, he referred to corruption in Ukraine and said: “The current state of corruption is not helpful.”
After meeting with the Ukrainian delegation in Florida on Sunday, Rubio said: “We had another constructive meeting based on the Geneva talks and the developments of the past week. But there is a lot of work to be done.”
Rustam Umarov, the secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, who headed the country’s negotiating team, also called the negotiations with the United States “constructive and successful.”
**Trump confirms Maduro call
On Monday morning, Trump also confirmed reports in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that he had spoken to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone, but declined to provide details.
Asked whether he had spoken to Maduro, he said: “I don’t want to comment on that. The answer is yes. I’m not saying whether the conversation went well or badly. It was a phone call.”
Asked whether his recent statement that “all airspace over and around Venezuela should be considered closed” was a signal that a US attack on Venezuela was imminent, Trump said: “Don’t take it that way.”
The US president clarified the reason for issuing such a warning: “Because we consider Venezuela to be an unfriendly country.”
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro discussed a possible meeting in a phone call.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the parties discussed pardoning Maduro if he steps down.