US President Donald Trump has set a two-week deadline to determine whether ongoing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine can yield results, as he intensifies his push to end the war.
"I would say within two weeks we're going to know one way or the other," Trump said in a phone interview with right-wing broadcaster Newsmax.
"After that, we'll have to maybe take a different tack."
He did not elaborate on what that would entail.
The Republican leader, who pledged during his 2024 presidential campaign to end the conflict "in one day," has so far failed to secure a breakthrough — more than three years of the war.
Efforts to stop the war
Last Friday, Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a highly anticipated summit.
While the two described the meeting as productive, no ceasefire agreement was reached, and Trump dropped his earlier push for an immediate halt to hostilities.
On Monday, Trump convened Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders at the White House.
That meeting fuelled speculation that direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy could follow.
Both initially signalled openness to a summit, but momentum quickly faltered.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of avoiding a meeting.
"Russia does not want to end the war," he said, warning that the Kremlin was trying to stall while pressing new military operations.
Russia countered that Ukraine was pushing for security guarantees "completely incompatible" with Moscow’s terms.
The Kremlin also criticised what it called Kiev’s insistence on Western-backed defence commitments, describing them as an obstacle to any deal.
Trump has a record of setting short deadlines on Ukraine.
In May, he gave Moscow a two-week window to demonstrate seriousness about peace, warning he would "respond differently" if progress failed to materialise.
The war has devastated Ukraine, displaced millions, and left tens of thousands dead.
Whether Trump’s two-week timeframe produces clarity or simply marks another political gambit remains uncertain.
