Trump insists that Putin and Zelensky want peace deal in rambling Davos address

US President Donald Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday that both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

In a long-winded speech that covered Venezuela, Joe Biden, and Emmanuel Macron’s sunglasses, Trump’s main focus was on Greenland with little attention paid to the war in Ukraine, although he did say he was “dealing” with Putin and Zelensky and that they both wanted to make a deal, a line he repeated in a Q&A session afterwards.

Trump also lamented the high number of casualties on both sides, which he accused Ukraine of not wanting “to talk about”, while also signalling his desire to end the conflict, despite doing so not serving US interests.

However, it was Trump’s pledge not to use force to annex Greenland that gained most attention from the international press amid days of worsening transatlantic tensions and increasing pushback from European leaders, though the US president did continue to insist on “immediate negotiations” to pave the way for Washington to buy the Danish territory.

Trump’s speech comes a day after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the forum, describing the collapse of the rules-based international order in a thinly veiled criticism of the US president. Carney also encouraged middle powers to “act together” and restated Canada’s ongoing support for Ukraine as a member of the Coalition of the Willing.

Though Zelensky announced he was cancelling his visit to Davos to prioritise the worsening energy crisis in Kyiv on Tuesday, CNN reported on Wednesday that the Ukrainian president was expected to meet with Trump on Thursday after all, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The meeting is set to take place on the same day as US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner travel to Moscow, where they are expected to meet Putin to discuss US-led efforts to agree a peace deal.