Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, ready for deal, says Donald Trump

Damaged cars and residential building on fire at the site of a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Pic/AFP

US President Donald Trump said he talked to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and said that the latter was ready to make a deal. During his gaggle on Air Force 1 on Thursday (local time), Trump said that the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev was in the US, but did not specify what talks he held.

"I think he's [Zelensky] ready to make a deal. And I think that President Putin is ready to make a deal, and you'll stop the killing of 1000s of young people a week. I just will tell you that there's a lot of good conversation about Ukraine, Russia," he said.

Trump added that the US wants the Russia-Ukraine conflict to stop as soon as possible, and to stop the killing of thousands of soldiers from both sides.

‘Russia delaying ceasefire talks'

Britain and France on Friday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks to bring a halt to fighting in Ukraine and ramped up pressure on Moscow by insisting that he owes the US an immediate answer. Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting after a Kremlin official said on Monday that Moscow views efforts to end its three-year war with Ukraine as "a drawn-out process".

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