Trump urges Zelensky to reach peace deal with Putin

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday, September 27, that he wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reach a settlement with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war. A clip of his remarks was published by Fox News, according to Deutsche Welle.

"I want him to settle with Putin, and I want Putin to settle with him," Trump said.

The US president said tens of thousands of people are dying every month in the Russia-Ukraine war, about 97% of them military personnel. He said 32,000 people died two months ago, 33,000 last month, and 25,000 this month.

Hope for an early agreement

In another excerpt of his remarks, cited by the online outlet Clash Report, Trump said both Ukraine and the United States have expressed readiness for negotiations. He said he hopes an agreement could be reached in the near future, possibly before the harsh winter sets in.

Earlier developments

On September 25, sources told Bloomberg that during a meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trump suggested he travel to Moscow for talks with Putin, which the Ukrainian president reportedly declined. Zelensky's office, for its part, officially stated that Trump had not proposed that he go to Moscow to meet Putin.

The Kremlin has previously repeated that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky is only possible in Moscow. During the UN General Assembly, a correspondent for Russian state broadcaster VGTRK asked Zelensky when he would come to the Russian capital. The Ukrainian president initially did not respond, then answered off to the side: "By rocket."