As the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term comes to a close, he says he remains committed to achieving peace in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as evidenced by his hosting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just a day apart.
The president hosted the leaders at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., in an attempt to achieve peace in the war-stricken regions.
Trump’s Sunday meeting left the president optimistic, he said, claiming Russia and Ukraine are “closer than ever” to striking a peace deal.
Zelenskyy appeared confident as U.S. officials gave assurances of security guarantees to Ukraine, as well as aiding in the reconstruction of the war-torn nation – in the form of business expansion.
However, the optimism may have hit a snag on Monday as Trump said during a morning call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he accused Ukrainian forces of trying to attack his residence.
Trump expressed his anger at the possible attack, adding that he prevented Ukraine from obtaining and using Tomahawk missiles against Russia.
“I stopped the Tomahawks. I didn’t want that, because we’re talking about, you know, it’s a delicate period of time. This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that, and can do it,” Trump told reporters Monday afternoon.
The president added that there could be some doubt about whether the attack had occurred, saying it was possible that it hadn’t happened.
As Trump is working to bring an end to the war in Ukraine between the two Eastern European nations, he addressed ongoing tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran.
Trump and Netanyahu reportedly discussed the potential of future strikes on Iran if the Islamic Republic attempts to rebuild its nuclear capabilities, following U.S. strikes in June that targeted the country’s nuclear sites.
“I hear Iran is looking to rebuild its facilities again, and if they do we will have to knock them down again,” the president told reporters during a press conference. “We’re going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that build up. So I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I’ve been reading.”
In addition to Iran, the two leaders discussed implementing the second phase of the peace plan between Israel and Hamas. One of the sticking points to the agreed-upon plan is that Hamas must disarm.
Trump warned the terror group, reiterating prior threats if they don’t follow through by disarming.
“It’ll be horrible for them – horrible, really, really bad for [Hamas]. I don’t want that to happen, but they made an agreement that they’re going to disarm.”
A reporter asked the president if he was concerned about Israel not “moving quickly enough to phase two of the peace plan,” to which he responded by underscoring that the ball is in Hamas’s court.
“Well, I’m not concerned about anything that Israel is doing. I’m concerned about what other people are doing or maybe aren’t doing, but I’m not concerned. They’ve lived up to the plan.”
While there are lingering concerns over the future of Iran rebuilding its capabilities and Hamas’s reluctance to disarm, the president indicated that the Abraham Accords will be expanded, indicating that Saudi Arabia could soon sign on with the accords, adding that Israel and Saudi Arabia “will get along great.”
