Trump referred to the FT's reports during a conversation with journalists aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to the White House.
“No, we never talked about it. I think they should just stop on the front lines, where they are, on the front lines. The rest is very difficult to negotiate. You know, there are so many different permutations.” – Trump said. — “So I say they should stop right now on the front lines, go home and stop killing people,” the US president added.
Asked what should happen to Donbas, Trump said it should remain divided as it is.
Look: Another change of Donald Trump's mind regarding Ukraine. It's about occupied territories
“I think that 78 percent of this territory is already occupied by Russia. Leave it as it is now. They can, they can negotiate something later,” he said.
The British daily reported, citing people familiar with the course of events, that Friday's meeting of the presidents at the White House repeatedly turned into a “screaming exchange of words” during which Trump “swore all the time.” According to a European official with knowledge of the meeting, Trump said the Ukrainian leader must reach an agreement. The American president told President Zelensky that he was losing the war, warning: “If Putin wants it, he will destroy you.”
“FT” sources claim that the US president rejected maps of the front line in Ukraine and insisted that Zelensky give Putin the entire Donbas. He also allegedly repeatedly repeated, word for word, the arguments the Russian leader presented to him in a telephone conversation on Thursday, even though they contradicted his own recent statements about Russia's weaknesses, European officials familiar with the meeting said. Ultimately, the Ukrainian side was supposed to convince Trump to support freezing the current front lines.
