US President Donald Trump said he trusts Russian President Vladimir Putin and will not impose sanctions on Russia. However, he stated that he would withdraw from peace efforts in Ukraine if no progress is made.

Trump and Putin held a phone call on May 19 at a time when Ukraine and its allies are stepping up efforts to end the war with Russia. In his phone call with the U.S. president, Putin did not agree to a full ceasefire, despite calls from various world leaders to do so.

Asked if he believed Putin wanted peace in Ukraine, Trump replied, “I do.”

Asked if he trusted the Russian leader, the Republican replied, “I do.”

"I think some progress has been made, but it's a terrible situation. Every week 5,000 young people die," Trump told the White House.

He noted that the U.S. remains in contact with Europe as efforts are made to end Russia's war against Ukraine, the Kiev Independent reported.

“We've also talked to the leaders of most European countries and we're trying to get this whole thing over with,” the US president pointed out.

Trump stressed that he would not impose further sanctions against Russia “because there is a chance” of progress towards a ceasefire.

"Because I think there's a chance to get something done, and if you do, you might make it a lot worse. But there may come a point where that happens," he explained.

Trump reiterated that he would pull out of efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine if no progress is made.

"I'm telling you, big egos are involved, but I think something will happen. And if it doesn't, I'm just pulling out, and they'll have to move on," he said.

The US president repeated his earlier comments that he believed Putin wanted to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

"I said, 'When are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? This is a bloodbath and I believe he wants to end it,'" he said, referring to his conversation with Putin.

Instead of a ceasefire, Putin has pushed for talks on a “memorandum on a potential future peace treaty,” the Russian president said after the two-hour call with Trump.

Russia's position in the peace talks remains unchanged and requires “eliminating the root causes” of the war, he added.

The conversation between the two leaders comes days after largely fruitless talks in Turkey.

At the May 15 talks in Istanbul, Russia sent a delegation of low-level officials and repeated its maximalist demands, including that Ukraine accept the loss of Crimea and four eastern provinces. | BGNES