Trump Claims He’s the Only One Who Can Stop Putin as White House Seeks Easter Truce

US President Donald Trump has said he is the only one who can stop Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with Clay Travis, the founder of the Outkick sports outlet, Trump, who claims to have a close relationship with Putin, was asked about the ongoing war in Ukraine and his ability to influence the situation.

“So, I know him very well,” Trump said. “It’s amazing that we didn’t get into any major skirmishes because of the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax.”

When Travis pointed out that Putin didn’t invade Ukraine during Trump’s presidency, Trump replied, “He didn’t invade anything when I was president,” before mentioning Russian military actions in Georgia and Crimea, which took place under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, respectively.

“I don’t think there’s anybody in the world that’s going to stop (Putin), except me, and I think I’m going to be able to stop him,” Trump added.

He also addressed the human cost of the war, saying, “We’ve had some very rational discussions, and I just want to see the people stop getting killed. They’re losing 2,500 young kids a week, and they’re Russian and they’re Ukrainian.”

A Bloomberg report reveals that the White House is aiming to broker a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine by Easter, April 20.

While the US remains hopeful of achieving a broad ceasefire in the ongoing war, sources say the timeline may shift due to the differing positions of the involved parties.

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Meanwhile, a White House statement confirms that the US has pledged to assist Russia with agricultural exports.

On March 21, Trump stated that “a full ceasefire will be achieved pretty soon.” While media reports previously suggested that April 20 was the target date for a ceasefire, no official announcement has confirmed this.

Notably, in an interview with Tucker Carlson for his YouTube show, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, expressed admiration for Putin following their meetings in Moscow.

Reflecting on his two meetings with the Russian leader on Feb. 11 and March 13, Witkoff said, “I liked him. I think he was honest with me.”

He described the meetings as the first steps toward establishing a “good, healthy conversation” between the two countries, noting, “President Putin, to his credit, has sent every signal to President Trump that this is the path he wants to take.”

Witkoff further described Putin as “not a bad person” and acknowledged the complexity of the situation, stating, “It’s a complicated situation, this war, and all the components that led to it. You know, it’s never just one person who’s right.”

Witkoff also revealed that after the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump, Putin went to church and prayed for him, adding, “Not because he could be the president of the United States, but because they had a friendship, and he prayed for his friend.”

Witkoff shared that Trump was “clearly touched” by this.

When asked by Carlson about European concerns that a Russian victory in Ukraine might lead Putin to “march on Europe,” Witkoff confidently replied, “100% no.”

He added that he did not believe Moscow intended to “absorb” all of Ukraine, stating, “The Russians have what they want: They got back these five regions. They have Crimea. They got what they wanted. So what else do they want?”