Trump said the war in Ukraine "will end very soon"
US President Donald Trump said his administration continues to work toward ending Russia's war against Ukraine and expressed confidence that it "will end very soon". He gave no specific dates or details of a possible settlement.
Trump made the statement on September 16 during a speech in Gastonia, North Carolina, where he was holding a rally in support of Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley. The event and its broadcast were covered by local American media.
"We are working very hard on a settlement between Russia and Ukraine", Trump said.
The US President once again cited the personal relationship between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as one of the factors complicating negotiations, in his view.
"They hate each other. Both leaders hate each other so much. But this will all end very soon", Trump said, adding that the war was also contributing to rising diesel prices.
He did not explain whether this forecast was linked to new agreements between Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow.
The issue of diesel fuel has appeared repeatedly in Trump's statements about Ukraine in recent days. On September 13, he called on Zelenskyy to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries producing diesel, saying such attacks contribute to a global fuel shortage.
Trump said at the time that Ukraine could attack other targets in Russia, but not facilities related to diesel production. He also claimed that the diesel shortage was primarily related to the Russian-Ukrainian war, rather than to combat operations in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, problems in the global fuel market have several causes. US officials have previously acknowledged that damage to Russian refineries has reduced diesel availability, while disruptions in energy supplies from the Middle East also add pressure to the global market.
