Trump: Putin has disappointed me

U.S. President Donald Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the second day of his official visit to the United Kingdom. The two leaders held a joint press conference following their meeting at the historic Chequers estate, northwest of London. In his speech, Trump emphasized that the U.S. and the U.K. are forever united as friendly nations and will always remain friends, noting that due to the enduring ties between the two countries, the U.K. was the first nation to sign a historic trade agreement with the U.S. Describing Starmer as a "tough negotiator," Trump announced that the U.S. and the U.K. would, for the first time, extend their security alliance into the realm of economic security and would soon finalize an agreement in this area.

"WE ARE JOINING FORCES ON ENERGY"

The U.S. President pointed out that the two countries have also signed a "one-of-a-kind" Technology Prosperity agreement, stating, "Because we want to ensure that our countries lead the next great technological revolution side by side. We just met with the world's greatest business leaders. Some of them are in this room right now. We had a wonderful meeting with them on business, trade, and technology. This visit has set in motion a 350 billion dollar deal across many sectors. We are committed to supplying the U.K. with the best artificial intelligence hardware and software in a safe and stable manner, and we will do so. And in large quantities. We are also joining forces on quantum computing and nuclear energy. This is a natural partnership for close allies."

Stating that the U.S. is in the best position it has ever been in terms of business and investment, Trump said, "Employment is at a record level. Most importantly, 17 trillion dollars in investment has come into our country in an 8-month period. This is not just a record. In the last year of the Biden administration, 250 billion dollars had come in. It hadn't even reached 1 trillion over four years. In our term, 17 trillion dollars have come in."

"PUTIN HAS DISAPPOINTED ME"

In his speech, Trump also mentioned the diplomatic efforts the U.S. has undertaken to prevent wars around the world, saying, "I thought the war in Ukraine would be easily resolved because of my relationship with Putin, but Putin has disappointed me. He has truly disappointed me greatly."

"HE COULD HAVE BEEN A U.S. PRESIDENT"

Remembering the famous American political commentator Charlie Kirk, who was killed in an assassination last week, Trump said, "He was a wonderful young man. He had an incredible future. Some were saying that he could one day be president. I had told him, 'Charlie, I think you have a very high chance of being president one day.' He loved young people very much and only wanted to care for young people. I had never seen anyone connect with young people the way he did. And the young people connected with him in the same way. Now they are in total devastation. I am grateful to the British who sent messages of condolence."

When asked at the press conference whether he is the only person who could persuade Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza and what he might say on this matter, Trump said the only thing he expects in this regard is the release of all Israeli hostages. "I want the hostages to be released, and I believe that will eventually happen," Trump said.

When asked why he thinks the U.K.'s decision to recognize Palestine is wrong, Trump replied, "We have a disagreement with Prime Minister Starmer on this issue. Actually, this is one of our rare disagreements."

"THEY ARE BEING KILLED AT A HIGHER RATE"

Responding to a question about what steps could be taken to end the war in Ukraine, Trump said, "Yes, Putin has disappointed me. He is causing the deaths of many people, and in fact, he is losing more than he is killing. Frankly, Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than Ukrainian soldiers. Yes, this has disappointed me. I don't like seeing death. This does not directly affect the U.S. Of course, as long as a third world war is not entered into because of this issue."

Arguing that the war in Ukraine broke out because Putin did not respect the leadership of the previous U.S. administration, Trump stated, "They left Afghanistan in a completely unprovoked and terrible fiasco. We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to do it with strength and honor. Also, we were going to keep Bagram, one of the world's largest air bases. What we did was give that base to them without getting anything in return. By the way, we are trying to get Bagram air base back. There are things they are requesting from us, and we want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it is an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."

"TIKTOK HELPED ME WIN THE ELECTION A LOT"

In response to a question requesting information about discussions regarding the China-based video sharing platform TikTok, Trump said he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow to clarify the matter. Addressing whether there is any question of changing TikTok's algorithm, Trump said, "TikTok has tremendous value. I don't want to lose that value. Actually, I like TikTok. It helped me win the election a lot. TikTok was a major factor that made a difference among young voters. That was one of the reasons we won the election by a large margin."

"IF OIL PRICES FALL, PUTIN WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO END THE WAR"

In response to a question about sanctions on Russia, U.S. President Trump said, "If oil prices fall, Putin will have no choice but to end the war. He will have to get out of the war."

Criticizing European countries for still buying oil from Russia, Trump said, "If the people I am fighting for go and buy oil from Russia, this is unacceptable. The moment the oil price drops, Russia will sit at the table. We have brought prices down a lot. We are drilling, we are producing more oil than anyone in the world. We are doing a lot. But seeing this has disappointed me. You cannot do that. This is not a fair game against the U.S., and we cannot allow it."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also praised the Technology Prosperity agreement he signed with U.S. President Trump during the signing ceremony held before the press conference. Starmer said, "We just had an extraordinary meeting with business leaders. We presented them with a vision. They responded with new deals and investments, and they broke all records. There will be a capital flow of 250 billion pounds between the two sides of the Atlantic. This is a record amount expected to create 15,000 jobs in the U.K." Starmer stated that the agreement signed with the U.S. would change the lives of people across the U.K.

"WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER"

Stating that U.S. and British soldiers train together, fight together, and that American and British industries produce together, Starmer said, "Now, as we increase defense spending, we will also remove the obstacles to working together on new defense technologies. We are united in defense and security. But we are also together in the pursuit of peace. We are working together to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East. We are working together to ensure aid reaches, to rescue the hostages, and ultimately to return Israel and the region to a comprehensive plan that can provide peace and security."

When asked at the press conference about the U.K.'s approach to the recognition of a Palestinian state, Starmer emphasized that they also put the situation in Palestine on the table during their meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying, "We absolutely agree that there is a need for peace and a roadmap. The situation in Gaza is in an intolerable state. The hostages have been held for a very, very long time, and their release is essential. Aid needs to enter Gaza urgently. Therefore, the issue of recognizing Palestine should also be seen in the context of the peace plan we are working on intensively."

Starmer said, "The recognition of Palestine is part of an overall package that will take us out of the current terrible situation and lead to a safe and secure Israel and a viable Palestinian state."

Saying that they are also acting together in peace efforts in Ukraine, Starmer stated, "In recent days, Putin has shown his true face. He carried out the largest attack since the beginning of the invasion. More blood was shed. More innocent people were killed. There were unprecedented violations of NATO airspace. These are not the behaviors of someone who wants peace."

Responding to a question at the press conference about what steps could be taken to end the war in Ukraine, Starmer answered that more pressure should be put on Russia. Starmer said, "We need to create more pressure on Putin. We have seen that when the President creates pressure on Putin, Putin tends to actually move. I think we need to increase this pressure."

News Source: İHA