Trump on the end of the war: Putin expressed his desire to meet as soon as possible.

Trump stated this during his speech in Phoenix at AmericaFest, which was broadcast by Fox News.

The politician described the Russia-Ukraine war as "horrific," adding that "no one has ever seen anything like it."

"Millions of soldiers have died. We see insane numbers and we must stop this. It's foolish," Trump remarked.

According to him, Putin told him that he wants to meet as soon as possible. Trump also reiterated his claim that this war "would never have happened had he been president."

Recall that on November 10, the Washington Post, citing sources, reported that Trump had a phone conversation with Putin, advising him not to escalate the situation. However, the Kremlin denied this information.

During the annual year-end press conference on December 19, the head of Russia stated that he had not communicated with Trump for over four years. After the Republican's victory in the elections, the Kremlin leader publicly congratulated him.

Meanwhile, the newly elected U.S. president has already met with the head of the Ukrainian state, Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump stated that Zelensky and Ukraine would like to reach an agreement with Russia to "stop this madness".

However, Zelensky explained to reporters that Ukraine is currently not in a weak, but at the same time not strong enough position to begin peace negotiations.

Kit Kellogg, whom Donald Trump appointed as a special envoy for the war in Ukraine, believes that both Kiev and Moscow are already ready for peace negotiations.

In May, Kellogg proposed a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine along the current front lines. To encourage Ukraine to start negotiations, he suggested continuing to arm it only if it agrees to sit at the negotiating table.