Trump claims he urged China's Xi to help end Russia's war in Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Jan. 21 that he pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to help put an end to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump claimed he brought the matter up with Xi during a call.

"He's not done very much on that," Trump said.

"He's got a lot of … power, like we have a lot of power. I said, 'You ought to get it settled.' We did discuss it."

Xi and Trump spoke by phone on Jan. 17, though Trump did not mention Ukraine in his comments directly afterwards.

Trump's latest remarks come a day after his presidential inauguration. On the same day, Xi held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he praised the deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing.  

While Trump in the past has spoken admiringly of both Xi and Putin, he told reporters that the U.S. would "likely" impose new sanctions on Russia if Putin refuses to make deal. The previous day, he said Putin was "destroying Russia" by not making a deal to end the war.

Trump campaigned on the promise that he could end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours of his election. Since his November victory, the timeline for a peace agreement has changed significantly, with Trump acknowledging in December that the situation is "a tough one."

Both the U.S. and Ukraine have previously urged China to exert pressure on Russia to de-escalate the war, including by withdrawing North Korean troops and military aid.

Although China has positioned itself as a possible mediator between Russia and Ukraine in future negotiations, Beijing remains Moscow's key economic ally and leading source of dual-use goods that feed the Kremlin's war machine. China nonetheless denies accusations of supporting Russia's invasion.  

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The Kyiv IndependentChris York

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