On the 24th (local time), President Donald Trump reiterated that the United States is currently negotiating trade issues with China.
During a luncheon meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the White House, President Trump responded to a reporter's question about who in China the U.S. is engaging in trade talks with, saying, “They met this morning.”
President Trump said, “It doesn’t matter who the attendees of the meeting are. We might disclose that later, but they met this morning, and we have had discussions with China.” He did not elaborate further on the talks with China.
Although President Trump said the day before that negotiations with China are happening daily, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied this during a briefing, raising questions about whether dialogue is actually occurring between the two countries.
When asked if he believes President Vladimir Putin of Russia is serious about peace with Ukraine, President Trump emphasized, “Both (Ukraine and Russia) want peace, but they need to come to the (negotiation) table.”
In response to a question about whether sanctions would be imposed if Russia does not stop bombing Ukraine, he said, “I have my own deadline,” adding, “After the deadline passes, we will have a very different attitude, but I believe the chances of achieving a (ceasefire agreement) are high.” However, President Trump did not specify when his ‘deadline’ is.
To a reporter’s question about how important the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance is, President Trump responded, “It is certainly very important for Europe, and I think without us, NATO would not be as strong.”