Global Courant
Former President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that a conversation he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin delayed the country’s invasion of Ukraine for several years.
Trump made the claim during an exclusive interview on Fox News’ “Special Report,” describing the call to anchor Bret Baier, telling Putin that an invasion would be a “catastrophe” and that there would be “hell to pay.” would be.
“I have a very good relationship with Putin. I mean, I haven’t spoken to him in a long time, but I had a very strong relationship,” Trump said when asked how he would end the war in 24 hours. he has stated on numerous occasions.
When asked about the invasion, the former president said of Putin, “He wouldn’t have done it if it was me. He did it after I left.”
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This combination of photos taken on Feb. 21, 2020 shows U.S. President Donald Trump making remarks at a Keep America Great rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on Feb. 19, 2020. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech at a ceremony in Jerusalem on January 23. 2020 commemorating the citizens of Leningrad during the siege of the city by the Nazis in World War II. (JIM WATSON, EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)
“I thought he would,” Trump continued. “Look, I talked to him. I said, if you do it, there will be hell to pay. It’s going to be a catastrophe. Don’t do it.”
Putin initially didn’t believe Trump would take action, Trump said, but he pushed back: “I told him I was going to do something. He said, ‘No, no, no, you’re not going to do that.’ I said: I will do it, Vladimir, I will do it. I will do it.”
Trump, also a 2024 presidential candidate, said Putin believed “maybe 10%” of what he said, but that 10% was “all you needed” to stop the invasion. “It wasn’t until after I (office) left that you started hearing about this,” he added.
When asked if he thought Ukraine was a separate country from Russia, Trump replied that it was, but that it used to be one country, and “Putin liked it that way”.
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Ukrainians cross a makeshift path under a destroyed bridge as they flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
As for the current conflict, the presidential candidate said he would not factor in what might happen in a negotiation between the two countries – such as Russia controlling Crimea – because it would “obstruct a negotiation”.
But he said he could negotiate a solution “within 24 hours”.
“But I’m telling you, within 24 hours — that’s what I did. I got very rich making deals. Very rich. And you know what? Way more than people even understand. And that’s what I do,” Trump said .
Former President Donald Trump sits down for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report” on June 19, 2023. (Fox news)
“I would have a deal done within 24 hours of when we started. And I would tell Zelenskyy something and I would tell Putin something, and I would get him into a room, and I would tell him again, and again,” said Trump.
He added: “I’d like to make a deal real quick. And you know what? Death would stop and destruction would stop, because look, Ukraine is wiped out.”
Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine has lasted more than 480 days.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
