Want to stop people getting killed: Trump as Ukrainian, US officials meet

Ukraine has got some difficult problems. We have a corruption situation going on, which is not helpful. There is a good chance to make a deal, said Trump

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

As a senior Ukrainian delegation holds talks with officials in Florida, US president Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said that there was a "good chance" of reaching a deal to end the conflict.

"They [talks between US and Ukrainian officials] are going along well. We want to stop people from being killed. This doesn't have much to do with us, but I'd like to see we can save a lot of souls. Last month, we had 27,000 people killed in the ridiculous war that never should have happened," Trump said while talking to reporters onboard Air Force One.

"Ukraine has got some difficult problems. We have a corruption situation going on, which is not helpful. There is a good chance to make a deal," he added.

When asked whether his recent warning about closing Venezuelan airspace means that strikes are imminent, Trump said that there was no need to read anything into the same.

"We don't consider Venezuela to be a very friendly country. They sent millions of people, and they shouldn't be in our country. They are causing a lot of problems and drugs in our country.

He confirmed he had a phone call with Nicolas Maduro, but would not comment further.

"I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call," Trump said.

When asked about Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth's order, where he reportedly said to leave no survivors after a strike on a boar in the Caribbean, Trump said that he believes Hegseth didn't say it.

"I don't know anything about it. He said he did not say that, and I believe him," he said.

When asked more specifically about the reported second strike that killed survivors, Trump said, "Pete said that did not happen."

A Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials on Sunday (local time) to discuss the US' peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

Umerov headed the delegation after Zelenskyy's right-hand resigned hours after anti-corruption agencies raided his home.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a "dignified end" to the war was possible given that the US was demonstrating a constructive approach.

"The Ukrainian delegation should already be in the United States by this evening, US time. The dialogue based on the Geneva points will continue. Diplomacy remains active. The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end. The Ukrainian delegation has the necessary directives, and I expect the guys to work in accordance with clear Ukrainian priorities," Zelenskyy posted on X.

Zelenskyy earlier said that the delegation's task was to swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war.