US President-elect Donald Trump gestures at supporters as he holds hands with his wife Melania Trump during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, in early November. AFP File Photo
Donald Trump stated that resolving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority once he takes office next month, characterizing the Middle East as a "less challenging situation." "I believe we must address the Ukraine issue with Russia," the US president-elect told French magazine Paris Match in an interview recorded on Saturday and released on Wednesday. "Both nations are suffering losses that are unimaginable. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are being killed," Trump said, responding to a question about his primary focus on the global stage. "The Middle East is, of course, a significant priority. However, I think the Middle East is less complex than the situation with Ukraine and Russia," Trump added. "These are the two issues we must resolve swiftly. Many people are losing their lives."
Trump traveled to Paris for the Saturday reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral following a catastrophic fire in 2019. During his visit to France, his first international trip since his re-election, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. "We had a productive meeting with President Zelensky," Trump mentioned.
On Tuesday, Zelensky expressed his gratitude for Trump's "firm commitment" to ending the war in Ukraine. Trump had previously claimed he could resolve the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours. On Sunday, he posted on his Truth Social platform that "an immediate ceasefire should be implemented, and negotiations should commence." He also reiterated his call for Washington not to intervene in Syria, where longtime president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebels in a swift offensive over the weekend. "Syria must handle its own affairs," Trump said in the interview. "We are not involved in Syria."
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