The United States President-elect, Donald Trump, has identified resolving the Ukraine crisis as his foremost international priority when he assumes office in January.
Trump traveled to Paris on Saturday to attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, which had been undergoing restoration since the devastating 2019 fire.
In an interview with French magazine Paris Match, recorded on Saturday and released on Wednesday, the U.S. president-elect highlighted the urgency of addressing the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, labeling it a greater challenge than the Middle East.
“I think we have to solve the Ukraine problem with Russia,” Trump stated. “Both those countries are losing numbers that nobody can believe. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are being killed,” he said, emphasizing the staggering toll of the war.
While acknowledging the importance of Middle Eastern affairs, Trump ranked it as a secondary concern.
“The Middle East is of course a big priority. But I think that the Middle East is a less difficult situation than Ukraine with Russia,” he explained. “But those are the two situations that we have to solve, and we have to solve them quickly. A lot of people are dying.”
Trump’s remarks came during a visit to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, which had been under restoration since a catastrophic fire in 2019.
During his trip, Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, marking his first international engagement since his re-election.
“We had a good meeting with President Zelensky,” Trump remarked, reflecting on their discussions. On Tuesday, Zelensky publicly expressed his gratitude for Trump’s “strong resolve” to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Trump, who has previously claimed he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, reiterated his stance on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
He called for “an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.”
In the interview, Trump also addressed the recent upheaval in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels in a swift offensive over the weekend. He reiterated his long-standing position on non-intervention. “Syria will have to take care of itself,” he said. “We are not involved in Syria.”
