Trump says ready to meet Zelensky, Putin only when peace deal is reached

The U.S. leader made the comment on Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social, Ukrinform reports.

"Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine," Trump said.

He repeated his familiar claim that the war would never have started if he had been president, and added that 25,000 soldiers were killed in the war last month.

"The original 28-point peace plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement," Trump said.

He also stated that he had instructed special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Putin in Moscow and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with the Ukrainians "in the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan." Afterward, they will report the progress back to the White House.

"I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelensky and President Putin soon, but only when the deal to end this war is final or, in its final stages," Trump said.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine