Trump: Putin wants to reach a settlement on the Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump said today, Sunday, that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wishes to reach an agreement regarding the war with Ukraine, accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of not wanting to do so.

Trump told reporters at the White House: "Russia wants to make a deal... but, for some reason, Zelensky does not want to make a deal."

Trump added, referring to a phone call he had with Putin on Friday: "President Putin strongly desires to reach a settlement."

The US president criticized his Ukrainian counterpart for failing to hold elections since the outbreak of the Russian war against Ukraine in 2022.

Trump said: "I think he should have held elections and could have resolved this matter on several occasions."

Trump and Zelensky exchanged sharp criticisms on Saturday following Washington's move to ease sanctions imposed on Russian diesel.

Trump announced on Friday that he had contacted Putin and agreed with him to allow Moscow to release large quantities of diesel into global markets.

Ukraine and its European allies expressed their dissatisfaction with this step, and Zelensky described it in statements to journalists on Friday as a "weak decision."

When asked on Saturday about these criticisms, Trump told reporters that Zelensky disobeyed his orders not to strike Russian oil refineries.

He noted that these strikes exacerbate the global fuel shortage caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.