US President Donald Trump on Friday admitted that he has been unable to fulfil one of his central campaign promises—ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict—calling it “probably the most difficult” challenge of his presidency.
Speaking at the first Congressional dinner held at the newly renovated Rose Garden of the White House, Trump highlighted his administration’s record in resolving long-standing global disputes but conceded that Ukraine remained unresolved despite his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Nobody has done what we did in seven months. We stopped seven wars. The war that I thought would probably be the easiest was the most difficult: that of Russia and Ukraine. I thought it would be easiest because of the relation with President Putin… It didn’t matter. It ended up being probably the most difficult,” Trump said.
He contrasted the situation with other conflicts he claims to have resolved quickly. “One of the wars was going on for 31 years—that was said to be unstoppable, and I got it done in about two hours; another one was on for 35 years and another for 37 years,” he added.
During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. However, despite multiple diplomatic engagements, including the Alaska summit in August—which he described as “very productive”—no breakthrough agreement has been reached.
On Thursday, Trump shifted his narrative slightly, saying he had stopped “three wars” instead of seven, without specifying which ones. “You know, I settled three wars. One was 31 years going, with a lot of people killed—10 million people. Another was 34, and another was 37 years. People said, ‘You can’t settle them.’ And I settled them. This one turned out to be more difficult, but we’ll get it. We’re going to get it settled,” he remarked.
Despite acknowledging the challenge, Trump reaffirmed his determination to eventually broker peace between Moscow and Kyiv.
