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Peace talk pessimism? Trump says he doubts Putin wants to end Ukraine war.

President Donald Trump is expressing skepticism that a peace deal is in reach, only a day after saying Kyiv and Moscow were 鈥渧ery close to a deal.鈥�

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President Donald Trump said Saturday that he doubts Russia鈥檚 Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Mr. Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were 鈥渧ery close to a deal.鈥�

鈥淭here was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,鈥� Mr. Trump said in a social media post as he flew back to the United States after attending Pope Francis鈥� funeral at the Vatican, where he met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mr. Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.

鈥淚t makes me think that maybe he doesn鈥檛 want to stop the war, he鈥檚 just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 鈥淏anking鈥� or 鈥淪econdary Sanctions?鈥� Too many people are dying!!!鈥� Mr. Trump wrote.

The new doubts aired by Mr. Trump come as the president and top aides intensify their push to come to a deal to end the war that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The comments also sharply contrasted with Mr. Trump鈥檚 positive assessment that the two sides were 鈥渧ery close to a deal鈥� after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Mr. Putin in Moscow on Friday.

The Trump-Zelenskyy conversation on the sidelines of the pope鈥檚 funeral was the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February. That confrontation led the White House to briefly pause U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Days after ordering the pause, Mr. Trump also announced he was 鈥渟trongly considering鈥� imposing new sanctions and tariffs on Russia to try to prod Mr. Putin to negotiate in earnest. Mr. Trump has not yet followed through on the threat 鈥� something even some of his staunch Republican allies are now pressuring him to do. In fact, when Mr. Trump announced new global tariffs this month, one major economy he excluded was Russia鈥檚.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Friday urged Mr. Trump to 鈥減ut the toughest of sanctions on Putin,鈥� arguing there is 鈥渃lear evidence that he is playing America as a patsy.鈥�

It鈥檚 the second time in a matter of days that Mr. Trump has rebuked Mr. Putin, whom the American president rarely publicly criticizes.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump publicly urged the Russian leader to 鈥淪TOP!鈥� after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine鈥檚 capital.

After their brief meeting Saturday, Mr. Zelenskyy鈥檚 office had said the U.S. and Ukrainian teams were making arrangements for the leaders to talk again Saturday. But Mr. Trump went directly to the Rome airport after the funeral and boarded Air Force One for the 10-hour flight back to the United States.

Mr. Zelenskyy鈥檚 spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, said Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy did not meet again in person because of their tight schedules.

Mr. Zelenskyy called it a 鈥済ood meeting鈥� on social media after the funeral.

鈥淲e discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,鈥� said the Ukrainian leader, who also held talks Saturday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 鈥淰ery symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you.鈥�

The White House said the discussion was 鈥渧ery productive.鈥� The meeting lasted about 15 minutes inside St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica at the Vatican, where Francis often preached the need for a peaceful end to the war, just before Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy took their seats at the outdoor funeral service.

The Vatican long ago had offered to help facilitate peace talks and Francis had regularly called for peace and dialogue from the altar of the basilica. That Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy spoke privately, face to face and hunched over on chairs on the marbled floors of the pope鈥檚 home, on the day of his funeral, was perhaps a fitting way to honor his wishes.

Mr. Trump said on social media, after he arrived in Italy late Friday, that Russia and Ukraine should meet for 鈥渧ery high level talks鈥� on ending the war.

Neither Mr. Putin nor Mr. Zelenskyy have commented on Mr. Trump鈥檚 calls for direct talks.

Mr. Trump has pressed both sides to quickly come to a war-ending agreement, but while Mr. Zelenskyy agreed to an American plan for an initial 30-day halt to hostilities, Russia has not signed on and has continued to strike at targets inside Ukraine.

Mr. Putin did not attend Francis鈥� funeral. He faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which has accused him of war crimes stemming from Moscow鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in a statement Friday night, Mr. Zelenskyy said 鈥渧ery significant meetings may take place鈥� in the coming days, and reiterated his calls for an unconditional ceasefire.

鈥淩eal pressure on Russia is needed so that they accept either the American proposal to cease fire and move towards peace, or our proposal 鈥� whichever one can truly work and ensure a reliable, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, and then 鈥� a dignified peace and security guarantees,鈥� he said.

鈥淒iplomacy must succeed. And we are doing everything to make diplomacy truly meaningful and finally effective.鈥�

The meeting Saturday also came shortly after Mr. Trump had issued his most definitive statement to date about the need for Ukraine to give up territory to Russia to bring the war to a close. He said in a Time magazine interview published Friday that 鈥淐rimea will stay with Russia.鈥�

Russia seized the strategic peninsula along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine in 2014, years before the full-scale invasion that began in 2022. Mr. Zelenskyy wants to regain Crimea and other Ukrainian territory seized by Russia, but Mr. Trump considers that demand to be unrealistic.

Russia has also seized Ukrainian territory in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions since invading in February 2022.

Referring to Crimea during the interview, which was conducted at the White House on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said, 鈥渆verybody understands that it鈥檚 been with them for a long time,鈥� meaning Russia.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Mr. Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Nicole Winfield in Vatican City and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.