Putin deal unlikely, no US troop for Ukraine: Trump

President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that US troops would not be sent to Ukraine to defend against Russia, after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before.

- 

Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine’s hopes of joining Nato and regaining the Crimean Peninsula are “impossible.”

Trump also said on Tuesday he hoped Russia’s Vladimir Putin would move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but conceded that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a “rough situation” for Putin.

In an interview with the Fox News “Fox & Friends” programme, Trump said he believed Putin's course of action would become clear in the next couple of weeks.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem (reaching a peace deal), to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they're all tired of it, but you never know,” Trump said.

“We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks.... It’s possible that he doesn't want to make a deal,” said Trump, who has previously threatened more sanctions on Russia and nations that buy its oil if Putin does not make peace.

Russia has made no explicit commitment to a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.