PARIS, Dec 11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump said solving the Ukraine crisis
would be his top priority once he assumes office next month, describing the
Middle East as a "less difficult situation."

"I think we have to solve the Ukraine problem with Russia," the US president-
elect told French magazine Paris Match in an interview recorded on Saturday
and released on Wednesday.

"Both those countries are losing numbers that nobody can believe. Hundreds of
thousands of soldiers are being killed," Trump said, replying to a question
about his top priority on the international stage.

"And 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," Trump said.

"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 flew to Paris for the Saturday reopening of Notre Dame cathedral
following a devastating fire in 2019. He met with French President Emmanuel
Macron and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to France,
his first international trip since his re-election.

"We had a good meeting with President Zelensky," Trump said.

On Tuesday, Zelensky said he was grateful for Trump's "strong resolve" to end
the war in Ukraine.

Trump once boasted he could end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours.

On Sunday he wrote on his Truth Social platform that "there should be an
immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin."

He also reiterated his call for Washington not to intervene in Syria where
longtime president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning
offensive at the weekend.

"Syria will have to take care of itself," Trump said in the interview. "We
are not involved in Syria."