Trump says he’s reached agreement with Russia to end the war, hopes to reach the same with Zelenskyy

US President Donald Trump believes he has reached an agreement with Vladimir Putin to end the war he started against Ukraine and hopes to achieve the same result with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, although he notes that it has proven to be more difficult than he thought.

“I will say that I think Russia is ready … I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelenskyy, and I hope that Zelenskyy … I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy. So far, it's been harder, but that's okay. It's all right,” he told reporters at the White House on Thursday night, Kyiv time.

“But I think we have a deal with both. I hope they do it,” Trump summed up.

The US President said he did not know whether he would meet Zelenskyy during his trip to Rome on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis.

“I don't know that he's going to the funeral or not. I just hope he gets this thing solved,” Trump said.

He again stated that between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers, Russians and Ukrainians, are dying in the war every week, and he wants to stop it.

“And if I can solve it because of a certain ability, that would be great,” the US President noted.

He also said he plans to meet with Putin soon after his visit to Arab countries, scheduled for May 13-16.