US President Donald Trump has said that it may be time for someone other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate on Kiev's behalf.
"Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine because what's happened? A tremendous number of people are dead. They're losing their male population," he said.
"Maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate," Trump added.
"Zelenskyy is not helping matters much. I think he doesn't want to stop it, but I want to see people not die."
"We've given a lot to Ukraine. They've given us nothing," he added.
Trump indicated that nuclear disarmament would be a priority in a proposed trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Ukraine
"We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearisation," he said.
"We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. Russia is second, China is third, but catching up. China was way behind, and now they're catching up. It'll take about probably five years," Trump added.
“Hypothetical possibility”
Asked whether he would meet Putin and Xi to discuss ending the war without Zelenskyy present, Trump said he would do "anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody's there or not."
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Putin had proposed a trilateral meeting next month with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The report came on the heels of Trump announcing a deal to buy Russian diesel fuel and later signing an executive order waiving key sanctions on Moscow, a move Zelenskyy criticised.
"Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness," Zelenskyy said.
Trump also said Russia and China had provided limited support to Iran despite their close relations with Tehran.
