US President Donald Trump has expressed optimism about Russia's willingness to end the war in Ukraine, following talks between the two nations. Trump said he believes the conflict has taken a significant toll on soldiers from Ukraine, Russia, and even North Korea, whose soldiers were recently captured by Ukraine in Russia's Kursk Oblast. 

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Trump condemned the war as "senseless", stressing that it was a preventable conflict. 

He then asserted that the war would not have erupted if he were still in office, implying that his leadership would have averted the crisis.

Trump, answering a question about the talks between US representatives and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, said he was "much more confident" and "the talks were very good."

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"Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the barbarianism that's going on over there. Soldiers are being killed by thousands on a weekly basis. Apart from Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, a lot of Koreans have been killed," the US president said while signing executive orders at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday (local time).

"We want to end it. It's a senseless war. It should have never happened; it would have never happened if I were President," he added.

Also read: Talks conclude in Saudi Arabia HIGHLIGHTS: Russia says there is ‘mutual desire’ to start Ukraine peace talks

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Lavrov holds talks with Rubio

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday (Feb 18) held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other officials that primarily focused on a broad range of issues, including the situation in Ukraine.

Both sides expressed a commitment to resolving the conflict and addressing the root causes that led to the war.

Rubio said that after an intense, four-hour meeting in Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia agreed on four crucial principles, including the establishment of a high-level team to "negotiate and work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine" in a way that's "acceptable to all the parties engaged," according to CNN reports.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv would not "give in to Russia's ultimatums" and highlighted that he would refuse to sign any agreement made without Ukraine's participation.

In a post on X, the Russian foreign ministry wrote, "FM Sergey #Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yury #Ushakov held talks with Secretary of State @SecRubio, National Security Adviser @michaelgwaltz, and US Special Envoy to the Middle East @SteveWitkoff. The Sides agreed to establish #RussiaUS dialogue."

The Russian foreign ministry in a press release on Russia-US consultations said, "The participants discussed a broad range of issues, including prospects for normalising bilateral relations. The sides agreed to appoint respective ambassadors as soon as possible, and to start consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers to remove restrictions on activities of the diplomatic missions of the two countries."

"The sides exchanged views on the situation surrounding Ukraine and reiterated their mutual commitment to settle the conflict. The Russian side emphasised the importance of eliminating the root causes of the conflict, creating proper conditions for achieving a lasting and enduring peace, and ensuring security and legitimate interests of all countries in the region. An agreement was reached to continue joint work in this area through special envoys to be appointed in the near future," it added.

(With inputs from agencies)