Trump Credits Melania For Shifting Perspective On Putin Over Ukraine War

US President Donald Trump has said that First Lady Melania Trump played a key role in shifting his perspective on Russian leader Vladimir Putin, especially on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the 47th President revealed that Melania helped him realise that his Russian counterpart had been breaking promises about trying to make a peace deal with Ukraine, reported Fox News.

Trump recounted a situation. After phone calls with Putin, wherein they discussed peace and an end to the conflict, Melania noticed that Russia continued carrying out attacks. She pointed out to the President that Putin's words didn't match his actions.

In the past, Trump has praised Putin, even calling him a "genius". However, he said Melania made him more cautious about trusting his intentions.

Speaking to Rutte, Trump said, "My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant. I say, isn't that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night."

He added, "I go home, I tell the first lady: I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said: Really? Another city was just hit." After that, I'll switch on the TV, or she'll say to me, "Wow, that's weird because they just bombed a nursing home."

Last week, Trump said he was unhappy with Putin, calling him responsible for the killings of a lot of people. He also mentioned that he was planning to increase military aid to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russian attacks. 

On Monday, Trump confirmed that he had agreed to sell arms to NATO allies. His announcement came soon after he issued a fresh warning to Russia, demanding a peace deal within 50 days or the country will face 100 per cent tariffs.