Trump says Ukraine talks ‘coming to a head,’ denies Putin is ‘playing’ him

The president also remained adamant that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not “playing” him as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has alleged.

“Nobody’s playing anybody. We are going to see if we can get it done,” Trump said Friday afternoon after swearing in Mehmet Oz as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “I think we have a really good chance of getting it done, and it’s coming to a head right now.”

Earlier on Friday, Rubio warned that the U.S. might “move on” from peace talks if there weren’t legitimate signs of progress in the coming days.

“We’re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end,” Rubio told reporters after meeting with Ukrainian and European officials in Paris, France. “So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.”

Trump affirmed Rubio’s stance but stopped short of saying he would walk away from negotiations.

“No specific number of days, but quickly we want to get it done,” Trump said when asked how many days he would allow for negotiation. “Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people. And we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won’t have to do that.”

“A lot of people are being killed … as they play games. So we’re not going to, we’re not going to take that,” Trump also said. “I think we have a good chance of solving the problem.”

When pressed again, the president declined to say he would walk away from the negotiating table.

“Well, I don’t want to say that, but we want to see it end,” Trump said.

Trump added that he hoped Putin was not stalling the conversations for a peace deal, and again indicated that progress could still be made.

“My whole life has been one big negotiation, and I know when people are playing us, and I know when they’re not,” said Trump. “And I have to see an enthusiasm to want to end it. And I think I see that enthusiasm. I think I see it from both sides.”

Earlier on Friday, Vice President JD Vance also signaled support for a potential deal while on his trip to Italy.

“We think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private. So the negotiations, I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close,” Vance said as he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday in Rome.