Trump says he urged Putin not to retaliate against Ukraine

Trump made this statement during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office on Thursday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"They [the Ukrainians] went deep into Russia, and he [Putin] actually told me -- I mean I made it very clear -- he said that 'We have no choice but to attack based on that,' and it's probably not going to be pretty," Trump said.

He said that he did not like such an approach.

"I said [to Putin], 'Don't do it, you shouldn't do it, you should stop it'," Trump added.

Trump said that there is "a lot of hatred" between Ukraine and Russia, but expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement. In this context, he referred to the ceasefire deal once achieved between Pakistan and India.

"I wish we could do the same thing with Ukraine and Russia and at some point it'll happen," he said.

Photo: PAP/EPA