Trump Says He's Got His 'own Deadline' For Ukraine Talks As Tensions Flare

Nearing the 100-day mark of his administration, President Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine hard to accept the terms of a peace deal with Russia to end the three-year war by giving major concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Expressing confidence that “we’re going to get it done,” Trump also stressed on Thursday that he has his “own deadline” for reaching a deal, though he did not specify it. “We want it to be fast,” he continued. "We have a deadline. After that, we will have a very much different attitude.”

If anyone can sway Trump on Ukraine’s behalf, it might be former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg — who accompanied Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to the White House on Thursday.

Stoltenberg, who was Norway’s prime minister before he led the NATO alliance for a decade in Brussels, attended Trump’s inauguration in January and is thought to be among Europe’s most effective interlocutors with this administration.

“The president really likes and trusts him,” said one White House official, granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the relationship.

Trump, seated across from Støre and Stoltenberg during a lunch in the Cabinet Room, said the former NATO leader “did a great job” leading the alliance, even as he suggested that America’s commitment to defending the other 31 member nations wasn’t iron-clad.

Asked if he viewed NATO as “sacrosanct,” the president mused that it was “an interesting question,” suggesting that America is the key to the alliance but not, in his view, a main beneficiary. “It's very important for Europe,” Trump said. “Without us, it wouldn't be nearly as powerful.”

Stoltenberg likely played a key role in getting Støre face time with Trump, which comes as the president’s “reciprocal” tariffs are on a three-month pause and countries are racing to secure trade agreements with the U.S.

Norway is not a member of the European Union and Støre is one of the few foreign leaders to meet with Trump directly since the trade war began three weeks ago.

The bigger matter for Stoltenberg and the rest of Europe is the war in Ukraine.

In an interview Wednesday evening, Stoltenberg previewed his message to Trump that defending Ukraine is very much aligned with security interests.

“If Putin wins in Ukraine, if Putin gets what he wants, it will make the world more dangerous,” he said. "It will demonstrate for him, but also for other authoritarian leaders, that when they use military force, when they violate international law, when they invade another country, they get what they want.”

Putin, he added, won’t be the only one to absorb that lesson. "It will also be a lesson which [China’s] President Xi learns, so it's in our security interest to support Ukraine," he said.

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made clear their patience for foot-dragging by Ukraine and Russia is running short, with the U.S. backing out of scheduled peace talks with Ukrainian officials in London this week. Meanwhile, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet again with Putin on Thursday.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump again made clear that he is mostly frustrated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He wrote that Zelenskyy’s public opposition to a main plank of the proposed U.S. peace deal — recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, which Putin annexed in 2014 — was “very harmful” to negotiations with Russia.

“If he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” Trump wrote — ignoring the fact that the Obama administration and allies in Europe, worried about antagonizing Putin, opted against enforcing the terms of the Budapest Memorandum, under which Ukraine had given up its nuclear weapons based on the promise of Western security backing.

“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War,” Trump continued. “He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”

At the same time, the president has suggested that Russia has essentially agreed to a peace deal that, according to a person briefed on the proposal and granted anonymity to discuss it, would end the conflict along the current battlelines and give Russia control of approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. While Russia would also see economic sanctions lifted, Ukraine would be asked to rely on security guarantees that are not backed by American hard power, leaving it to Europe to provide future defense aid in the event of another invasion.

Trump did voice his disapproval Thursday morning for Russia’s overnight bombing of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, but his social media post was far shorter than his screed a day earlier toward Zelenskyy. His stern response to Putin, in fact, was lightened with a plea:

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

Asked upon greeting Støre outside the West Wing if he thought Putin was still serious about peace, Trump replied that he was. But some White House allies disagree.

“The sick Russian attack on Kyiv demonstrates that War Criminal Putin is not serious about peace,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) said in a post on X. “Only greater force can bring him to the table. It is time for heavy secondary sanctions on Russian oil. We need to give POTUS maximum leverage!”