During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Trump also claimed he would “settle Russia-Ukraine” while he was president-elect.
Clearly, the US president has missed this self-imposed deadline. However, he has already threatened Russia with high tariffs and further sanctions unless the country’s president Vladimir Putin strikes a deal to end the war.
Then this week, the US president announced he wanted to negotiate a deal with Ukraine under which Kyiv would guarantee supplies of its rare earth resources in exchange for US military aid.
What will this development mean for the future of peace talks?
Is Trump actually interested in ending the war in Ukraine?
And will the people of Ukraine, who until now have been largely determined to resist Russia and fight on until victory, be willing to accept a peace deal with their aggressive neighbour?
Irish Times eastern Europe correspondent Dan McLaughlin joins the podcast.
Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.
