Trump says Zelenskyy is 'ready to negotiate a deal’

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is "ready to negotiate a deal" to resolve the war waged by Russia.

"He's ready to negotiate a deal. They'd like to stop. He's somebody that lost a lot of soldiers, and so did Russia," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"Russia lost more soldiers. They lost 800,000 soldiers. Would you say that's a lot? I'd say it's a lot," he added.

Trump also said that Russia might want to make a deal and he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said "would like to see me meet as soon as we can."

He also said that China has "a lot of power over Russia.”

Trump's remarks came a day after he called on Russia to "settle now" to end the war, which has continued for almost three years, and warned of high "taxes, tariffs and sanctions" if a deal is not reached.

The Kremlin said that Russia is closely monitoring Washington’s rhetoric and remains ready for respectful dialogue between Trump and Putin, like in the US leader’s first term in office.