Trump stated that he "understands Russia's feelings about NATO" and no longer plans to end the war "in 24 hours."

The elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that he understands Russia's feelings regarding NATO's expansion and Ukraine's potential accession to the alliance. He also expressed hope to meet with Putin and reach a ceasefire within six months.

He made these remarks at a press conference on Tuesday. Trump did not mention his promise to end the war within 24 hours.

As noted by BBC, in his responses about Russia's war against Ukraine, Trump seemed more focused on criticizing Joe Biden than discussing the actual circumstances of the conflict and the possibilities for its resolution.

“A big part of the problem was that Russia has been saying for many years, long before Putin, that NATO should not be present in Ukraine. This was like carved in stone. And somewhere along the way, Biden said: no, Ukraine should have the opportunity to join NATO. Well, for Russia, having someone right at their doorstep – I can understand their feelings about that,” Trump said.

“In these negotiations, many mistakes were made, and when I heard how Biden was handling these negotiations, I said: you could bring this to war, and it turned out to be a very bad war,” Trump continued. “And there could have been escalation; this war could have escalated, and it could have become much worse than it is now.”

“I think they had an agreement, and then Biden broke it; they had an agreement that would satisfy both Ukraine and everyone else, but Biden said: no, they must have the opportunity to join NATO,” Trump added.

Trump did not clarify which negotiations or what “deal” he was referring to.

Later during the press conference, Trump was asked when he expects to meet with Putin, and he replied that Putin wants to meet. He said the meeting will likely take place after the inauguration on January 20, and then he responded regarding when he hopes to achieve a ceasefire.

“I hope within six months… I hope much sooner than six months. Listen, Russia is losing a lot of young people, and so is Ukraine. And this should not have started. This war should not have begun. I assure you, if I were president, this war would not have started,” Trump stated.

During the campaign, Trump claimed he would end the war within a day of taking office. He did not explain why this rhetoric has now changed to six months.

Background. It was also reported that Trump’s representative Keith Kellogg postponed a visit to Kyiv. He had planned to go to Kyiv in early January to meet with Ukrainian leadership to discuss a peace plan. His team was also working on organizing visits to Rome and Paris, where Kellogg intended to have meetings with European leaders.