US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Reuters that he did not know what role the son of the Iranian Shah, Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution in 1979, would play in his country, BTA reports.
"He seems very likeable, but I have no idea what role he would play in his own country. We haven't gotten there yet, though. We're watching and studying a lot of things. It's very early - too early - to say. I don't know if he will fit into his country," Trump said.
"I don't know if his country will accept him as a leader. If people accept it, that would certainly be good for me," Trump added, noting that he had not spoken to Pahlavi.
On the other hand, the US president said he would meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, while praising Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez. The vice president took office after President Nicolas Maduro was forcibly taken to the United States on January 3.
"I think we'll just talk", Trump said of Machado. "We haven't met. She's a very nice woman. I think we'll just talk in principle," the Republican president added.
Asked if he would like Machado to present him with his Nobel Peace Prize, he replied: "No, I haven't said anything like that. She's a Nobel Prize winner."
And what if she wins him the prize?, asks Reuters. "Well, that's what I hear too. I don't know, but I shouldn't be the one to answer that question," Trump said.
The president said he had a "very good conversation" with Delcy Rodriguez yesterday. "She's very good to talk to. I think she will come, eventually... I will visit her country too," he noted.
In addition, the US president told Reuters that Ukraine, not Russia, is delaying the possible conclusion of a peace agreement.
The US leader's statement is in stark contrast to the rhetoric of European allies, who claim that Moscow has little interest in ending the war in Ukraine, the British news agency commented.
Trump said in an exclusive interview he gave on Wednesday in the Oval Office of the White House that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end his nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine. According to the US leader, Zelensky is more reserved.
"I think he is ready to make a deal," Trump said of the Russian president. "I think Ukraine is less willing to make a deal", Trump added.
The American president was asked why the negotiations led by the United States have not yet resolved the largest land conflict in Europe since World War II. "Zelensky", Trump replied. Trump's words signaled a new disappointment with the Ukrainian leader, Reuters notes. The two presidents have long had a volatile relationship, although their contacts appear to have improved during the first year of Trump's second term.
At times, the Republican president has been more willing than the leaders of some US allies to take Putin's assurances at face value, Reuters also writes. This has disappointed Kiev, European capitals and US lawmakers, including some Republicans.
In December, Reuters reported that US intelligence had not given up on Putin's goal of taking over all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire. US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard denied this information.
In recent weeks, the focus of US-led negotiations has been on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine. The aim is to ensure that it will not be attacked again by Russia after a possible peace agreement. In general, US negotiators are pressing Ukraine to give up its eastern Donbas region as part of a possible future peace agreement.
Ukrainian officials have been heavily involved in the latest talks, which were led on the US side by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. European officials have cast doubt on whether Putin would agree to some of the terms that were negotiated by Kiev, Washington and European leaders.
Trump said in an interview with Reuters that he was unaware of a potential trip by Witkoff and Kushner to Moscow, which Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday. Asked if he would meet with Zelensky next week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said: "I would if he was there... I would be there".
The US president did not elaborate when asked by Reuters why he thought Zelensky was being reserved about the talks. "I think he's just having a hard time getting there," the US president said. Zelensky has publicly ruled out any territorial concessions to Moscow, pointing out that the country's constitution prohibits Kiev from giving up any territory, Reuters recalls.