US President Donald Trump said he had a "very good meeting" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today, rating the meeting as "10 out of 10."

"We got along very well," he said during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

When asked what the atmosphere was like at his meeting with Putin this afternoon, Trump replied that he has always had an excellent relationship with President Putin.

"We'll see what happens next. I want to see people stop dying," Trump said.

The US president declined to specify what the obstacles to reaching an agreement were.

"I think he wants to reach an agreement," Trump said of Putin. He refused to specify "the only important thing" on which they failed to agree.

He insisted that it was now up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to strike a deal, with the participation of Europe.

The head of state noted that the next step is negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, with the participation of both Putin and Zelensky.

Trump said that both Putin and Zelensky want him to attend a future potential meeting between them to discuss the path to peace.

"They both want me there. They both want me there, and I will be there," he emphasized.

When asked if he was confident that peace could be achieved in a relatively short period of time, the president replied, "Quite short, yes."

Trump also admitted that he was wrong in thinking that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would be "the easiest" to resolve, referring back to his campaign promise to end the war in 24 hours.

"I thought it would be the easiest of all, but it turned out to be the most difficult," he said.

Trump was asked how he could end the war in Ukraine—with an exchange of territories?

The US president explained that the agreement could include an exchange of prisoners of war.

"I say 50/50 because so many things can happen. But I think President Putin wants to solve the problem," he said.

Trump hinted at progress on a possible exchange of prisoners of war: "I have a book with thousands of people who were presented to me today, thousands of prisoners who will be released," he said.

Host Hannity asked if this was a deal that had been negotiated today, and Trump replied that it was still in the process of being negotiated.

"Well, they have to accept them," he replied.

The president did not say who "presented" him with the book or whether the prisoners were Russian or Ukrainian.

When asked by Sean Hannity about territorial concessions that would give Russia land it has not previously possessed and potential security guarantees from the US for Ukraine, Trump replied that this was a point on which agreement had been reached with Vladimir Putin.

"Well, I think those are points we negotiated, and those are points we largely agreed on. In fact, I think we agree on a lot of things. I can tell you that the meeting was warm," he said.

The Republican called Putin a "strong man" and "extremely tough," but emphasized that the meeting had been positive.

"I think we're pretty close to the end. And look, Ukraine has to agree to this," he insisted.

Trump's advice to Zelensky: "You have to make a deal."

The US president signaled that he would postpone imposing additional sanctions or other "severe consequences" against Russia after concluding that his meeting with Putin today went "very well."

"Because of what happened today, I don't think I need to think about it now. Maybe I'll have to think about it in two or three weeks, but right now we don't need to think about it," he said.

Earlier this month, Trump threatened to impose harsh sanctions on Russia to force Putin to end the war against Ukraine. But he withdrew that deadline after the Russian leader agreed to a face-to-face meeting.

He also praised his Russian counterpart for agreeing that if he had been president at the time Russia invaded Ukraine, the war "would never have happened."

"This war should never have happened. You know, a lot of wars should never have happened. Stupid things happen and the wrong people talk," Trump said.

The Republican continued to blame former President Joe Biden for not preventing the Russian invasion.

Trump also said he appreciated that Hillary Clinton had said she would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize if he brokered peace in Ukraine. However, he insisted he was not seeking the award.

"I don't want to get involved in things like that," he explained, before adding that his former presidential rival's comments were "very nice." "If she said that, it's very nice. I appreciate it very much, actually," he said.

Clinton said earlier that she would personally nominate Trump for the award if he were the "architect" of the end of Russia's war against Ukraine, but only if he managed to do so without Ukraine having to cede territory to Russia. | BGNES