Trump vows again to end war in Ukraine

United States President-elect Donald Trump has said again that he will make Ukraine and Russia end the nearly three-year war.

He also stressed that he would ask the Taliban to return billions of dollars worth of US military equipment that was left behind in Afghanistan in 2021.

"I will end the war in Ukraine, I will stop this mess in the Middle East, and I will prevent World War III," Trump said at the Capital Arena in Washington on Sunday, the day before he was sworn in as president.

He did not explain how he would achieve this.

Analysts say it will be difficult to end the war in Ukraine anytime soon because Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning and is not motivated to stop the fighting.

During this rally, Trump outlined the goals he claims he will accomplish over the next four years at home and abroad, including strengthening the military.

Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president on Jan. 20 at noon. The ceremony will be held inside the Capitol building for the first time in 40 years due to freezing weather.

During his speech, Trump claimed that the United States is giving the Taliban in Afghanistan "billions of dollars a year" and that he will stop this if the extremist group does not return billions of dollars in American equipment.

"And I say, if we're going to pay billions of dollars a year, we should tell them we're not going to give them the money unless they give us back our military equipment," Trump said.

The United States left behind about $7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan when it withdrew in August 2021, after the Taliban regained control of the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban's retake of power has led to a drastic economic decline, with more than half of the country's nearly 24 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, such as food, according to USAID, the US development agency.

The United States has allocated more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan since the Taliban took power, according to USAID.

Since taking power, the Taliban have been condemned by Western leaders, international organizations and activists for serious human rights violations, particularly against women and girls./ REL