White House says Trump unwilling to listen to critics of his approach to peace in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump does not intend to listen to those who criticize his approach to the early settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, as those only want military action to continue. This was stated on February 23 by Mike Waltz, Assistant to the White House Chief of Staff for National Security.

"If anyone has better ideas, let them put them forward. But so far, all I've heard has been a call to pursue <military action> indefinitely. And no one should be surprised that President Trump did not build his election campaign on that, and does not intend to do so," he emphasized on Fox News.

The representative of the US leader's administration also added that the United States is currently engaged in revising its approach to interacting with Russia and providing assistance to Ukraine, as it is important for Washington to get a return on this assistance.

There was a split between Trump and Zelensky. What the media say

Earlier on February 23, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the initiatives of Trump and his administration aimed at a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine are causing concerns among the state's Asian allies. They, in particular, believe that the American leader may make a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the issue of disputed Asian territories.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt also noted that Trump considers a possible option to end the Ukrainian conflict "this week".

Prior to that, on February 21, Trump said at a meeting with state governors that he had a very good conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while subsequent contacts with Ukraine cannot be called such. The American leader pointed out that Kiev shows toughness in words, but in reality it does not have a large number of trump cards on its hands.