Quotes
We’re signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time,
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about a possible deal for Ukraine’s minerals
I am hoping for ... a fair result,
he said in a video address after sharp exchanges this week between the two leadersRussia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let him attack,
Trump saidI’ve had very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine,
Trump said
When there is a war, there cannot be democratic elections... When there is a war, it is difficult to investigate where a huge part of the funding given to Ukraine ended up,
Fico said
No one is disputing that Russia's use of military force in Ukraine was a violation of international law. However, Russia had serious security reasons for doing so, because it has long been misled on the issue of NATO enlargement,
he said, effectively justifying Moscow's actionsHowever, Europe should in any case help the US president to end the senseless killings in Ukraine as quickly as possible and not hinder him from achieving this goal,
he said
Russia is not winning in Ukraine. They’re not losing but they’re just not winning,
says Kallas, a senior officer in a specialist brigade which deploys across much of the 1,300km front line
We’re fed up with fighting but there will have been no point if we give into Putin now, as Trump wants us to. So, we’ll fight on whatever anyone tells us to do,
a senior officer in Ukraine saysLast summer the price of eggs jumped by 42 per cent, bananas by 48 per cent, tomatoes by 39.5 per cent and potatoes by 25 per cent. The Russian ruble has lost over half of its value since Putin first invaded Crimea in 2014, and over $600bn of the Kremlin’s foreign currency reserves have been frozen in Western banks.”
And earlier this week Russian expert and author Owen Matthews wrote in The IndependentI really hope, as a Ukrainian, that what Trump saying publicly now is to cloud the eyes of the Russians,
he saysRussia should be in negotiations from a position of weakness,
he said
The main architect of the ‘our guys’ system [a metaphor for corruption] is back in power,
said Ján’s father, Jozef Kuciak, to a crowd of about 10,000 in the capital Bratislava, referring to Fico
My good friend … Viktor Orbán recently complained, with a smile on his face of course, that he has been trying to hold a mirror up to the European Union for years,
Fico saidI appreciate President Donald Trump’s pragmatic approach and his clear focus on American national interests,
the Slovak leader saidYour president is doing Europe a great service,
Fico told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in a 15-minute speechThe energy and determination with which your President Donald Trump has entered into the peace process in Ukraine is admirable … He is bringing truth and, we all hope, peace back to Europe,
he said
The troops of Nato countries [in Ukraine] under a foreign flag – an EU flag or any national flag … is unacceptable.”
After talks with the US in Saudi Arabia, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov made clear the Russian positionTrump has conceded upfront and ahead of any talks with Ukraine what could have been part of a more balanced deal in the end,
Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said in a note Thursday
Washington has signaled willingness to consider several Russian demands that undermine Ukraine's long-term security, while the bilateral format and thawing U.S.-Russia ties raise concerns about a ceasefire deal that may be highly unfavorable for Ukraine. Trump's criticism towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is driving anti-American sentiment in Ukraine and heating up Transatlantic tensions,
he said in emailed comments